AFP cop William Wheatley will stand trial for trafficking ice
An AFP officer accused of stealing Bitcoin worth $6m from a drug dealer will stand trial for trafficking ice, after the drug was allegedly found during a raid of his home.
Police & Courts
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An AFP officer accused of stealing Bitcoin from a drug dealer will stand trial for trafficking ice allegedly seized as part of an investigation into the missing cryptocurrency.
William Wheatley, 45, last week pleaded not guilty to theft and corruption charges after he allegedly stole 81 Bitcoin — now worth $6m — seized by police from a steroid trafficking ring.
The suspended federal officer returned to Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Monday facing separate charges of trafficking and possessing methamphetamine after the drug was allegedly found during a raid of his Kensington home in 2022 by officers investigating the stolen coin.
AFP Detective Senior Constable Tom Cini told the online committal hearing Mr Wheatley — who was part of the AFP’s cyber crime unit — was placed under surveillance for three days in the months leading up to the raid.
The court heard a white crystalline substance was found in clip seal bags in a wallet and pouch.
Constable Cini said Mr Wheatley provided passwords for some mobile phones, laptops and hard drives seized but there were no emails or messages relating to selling or sourcing the drugs.
Mr Wheatley’s lawyer Luke Barker said his client’s drug charge was a “branch” of the investigation into the missing Bitcoin.
Magistrate Abigail Burchill committed Mr Wheatley to stand trial on the drug charges in the County Court where he will appear next month for a preliminary hearing.
“Not guilty,” he said when asked for his plea.
Mr Wheatley was last week ordered to stand trial on separate charges including theft and using information obtained as a public officer to benefit himself after he allegedly stole Bitcoin found on a device during a raid of a steroid trafficker’s property in Hoppers Crossing in January 2019.
The court last week heard that a “metallic device” that looked like an “overgrown dog tag” with digits on it was found by officers from Operation Viridian, a joint venture between AFP and Victoria Police.
According to court documents, police couldn’t crack into the crypto wallet for more than three weeks, when they discovered 81 Bitcoin on the device had been moved into an unknown wallet four days after they seized it.
The court heard Mr Wheatley was later linked to the theft through a woman’s Richmond address connected to an IP address allegedly involved in the transfer.
His bail was extended on the same conditions as his crypto charges, which include he surrender his passport, not contact witnesses or leave Australia.
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