Melbourne drug dealer Denis Shishkin pleads guilty to trafficking meth and cocaine: Court

A wannabe big shot went from Geelong Grammar to the slammer after he slung drugs to bankroll his and his squeeze’s lavish living.

Denis Shishkin was jailed after he pleaded guilty to trafficking meth and cocaine. Facebook.

A posh Melbourne private schoolboy sold coke and meth so he could fund his lavish lifestyle and keep his “capricious” girlfriend happy.

Denis Shishkin, 28, was sentenced in the County Court on Thursday to a minimum two-year jail term after pleading guilty to trafficking a commercial quantity of meth.

Shishkin, who also pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine, was nabbed after police raided his Doncaster apartment on July 26, 2022.

Investigators were forced to ram in the door after Shishkin refused police entry to the Sovereign Point apartment owned by his parents.

Police searched the apartment and seized large amounts of meth, cocaine and an imitation Glock handgun all stashed above the kitchen range hood.

Shishkin was also pinched with $9000 cash, scales, multiple iPhones, valium, ketamine and deal bags.

Shishkin was also caught with two Rolex Submariner watches and a silver and blue Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore watch which all turned out to be fake.

Police also analysed one of Shishkin’s iPhones which contained “numerous messages relating to drug trafficking.

Shishkin’s girlfriend Victoria Curtis, who was caught up in the raid, was sentenced in the magistrates’ court after pleading guilty to possession of a small amount of cannabis.

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Lawyers, who had acted for Shishkin at a plea hearing heard earlier this year, submitted their then client had been bullied at school and “unfortunately went down a wayward path”.

The court heard Shishkin sold drugs to support his habit which exploded after his older brother’s death “caused him to spiral downwards”.

However, Judge Peter Rozen highlighted Shishkin attended “some of the most prestigious schools in Melbourne”,

Shishkin’s schooling also included a year at Geelong Grammar boarding school Timbertop which costs $85,000 to attend.

Shishkin was also able to attain his “dream job” buying and selling high performance vehicles, before his coke habit killed that gig.

The court heard Shishkin had been living the high life while selling high end cars and doing cocaine and he “needed to keep up appearances”.

Shishkin also needed “large sums of money” to fund his cocaine addiction and keep his “capricious” girlfriend who he thought would leave him if he couldn’t continue to “lavish her with a high-end lifestyle”, the court was told.

Shishkin briefly worked for a car dealership and part-owned a cafe after his arrest but both ventures were sunk after his drug charges became known.

Shishkin also claimed to be a “high level administrative operator” who worked for a “variety of businesses”.

The prosecution submitted Shishkin wasn’t just “subsistence trafficking” to support a habit but was making money to “fund his lavish lifestyle”.

Shishkin’s matter was delayed after his initial legal team ceased to act on his behalf.

Judge Rozen gave Shishkin the opportunity to seek new lawyers but he was unable and after multiple adjournments the drug dealer fronted Thursday’s sentencing representing himself.

Judge Rozen said Shishkin’s offending “wasn’t simply a case of street level trafficking”.

“This is serious offending, drugs such as methylamphetamine do untold damage to society as this court sees on a daily basis,” Judge Rozen said.

“You sought to profit from the misery …”

Shishkin was jailed for a maximum of three years and five months.