Two entrepreneurs who drove Lamborghinis and rubbed shoulders with sports stars allegedly used a Bitcoin business as a front for an international drug syndicate.
Sam Karagiozis, 27, and good mate Steen McBeth, 28, are both facing life sentences as the alleged masterminds of a drug ring importing cocaine, MDMA and ice.
The 'self-made' millionaires co-founded Australian-based cryptocurrency Auscoin in 2017, hoping it would become the next big thing to rival the rapidly growing Bitcoin.
As the brand's notoriety grew there were invites to sit in Nick Kyrgios' player's box at the Australian Open and interviews with 60 Minutes.
But police allege behind the pair's high-profile online money venture there was a far more lucrative drug smuggling operation.
Karagiozis and McBeth are now both in custody a world away from the lavish lifestyle of flash fast cars, Disneyland trips and wealth they boasted about on social media.
Sam Karagiozis (left) and Steen McBeth (right) posed for a photo at Disneyland in Tokyo just a week before McBeth was arrested and charged with being part of a drug syndicate. It took 18 months before police arrested Karagiozis for allegedly being part of the same drug ring
Karagiozis (pictured) was arrested last month and police will allege in court that he 'directed the operations of the criminal syndicate' in the absence of his two co-accused
Just seven days before his world came crashing down, McBeth was photographed at Tokyo Disneyland smiling next to his good mate Karagiozis and 'Donald Duck'.
The Japanese holiday had been the culmination of months of planning for the launch of their very own cryptocurrency business.
Auscoin was officially registered with ASIC on October 25, 2017.
McBeth also had another to celebrate his return to Australia, having purhcased a top of the range Lamborghini from his mate Karagiozis before their departure.
Prior to flying overseas McBeth dropped the car off at a customising shop to have it turned from green to black, at a cost of close to $6,000.
He picked up the Lamborghini on October 21, 2017 - but six days later it was gone.
The AFP first became aware of the alleged ring in February 2017 when Border Patrol officers found several suspicious mail packages at Melbourne Airport.
Hidden in the mail were 15.8kgs of MDMA, 2.6kgs of cocaine and 1.1kgs of ketamine.
Police allege the drugs were bought on the 'dark web' before being shipped across to Australia and distributed - with payments often made in Bitcoin.
McBeth (pictured) is originally from New Zealand and his parents Denise and Murray founded the successful post office chain Pete's Post
Karagiozis claimed to be a self-made millionaire and a leader in cryptocurrency in Australia. He bought a Lamborghini (above) with the money he made, before selling it to McBeth in late-2017
Before going on holiday to Japan, McBeth dropped his Lamborghini into a workshop and paid $6,000 to have it turned black (above). Just six days after picking it up it was seized by police
McBeth (far left) and Jackson Li (far right) were both arrested on October 21, 2017. Karagiozis (centre) was arrested on March 7, 2019
2017
- February: AFP discover international mail containing drugs at Melbourne Airport. They allege they were bought through the dark web
- October: McBeth and Karagiozis take a holiday to
