Drugs on YumCha menu

DRUGGIES from all over Australia used bitcoins on the dark web to buy $180,000 in drugs from a Gold Coast man’s shed.

The Supreme Court of Queensland at Southport yesterday heard Joshua John Morrison, 37, spent 10½ months selling ice, cocaine, ecstasy and cannabis under the online alias of YumCha.

The lucrative drug operation included the use of a storage shed at Biggera Waters and multiple encrypted devices. Commonwealth prosecutor Ben Power said: “This was a sophisticated drug-trafficking operation, he was using the dark web and he was advertising drugs for sale and receiving payment in bitcoins.”

Morrison yesterday pleaded guilty to trafficking dangerous drugs, failing to provide information in accordance with an order and breaching his bail.

He will remain behind bars until August 26, 2026, after being sentenced to 10½ years prison. Mr Power told the court Morrison made more than 300 sales through the dark web.

The dark web is a part of the internet that is only accessible using special software and allows operators to remain anonymous or untraceable.

Morrison received about 292 bitcoins for his sales in 2016, which at that stage had a total value of about $180,000.

Bitcoins are a type of digital currency that use encryption techniques to regulate the generation of currency and verify and transfer funds.

The extent of the operation is unknown because Morrison refused to provide police with his password for encrypted devices.

Justice David Boddice said: “He has hidden the magnitude of his operation and he has deliberately done that.”

The drug operation was described as a mix between highlevel street dealing and wholesale supply of drugs, with Morrison providing anything from a single tablet of MDMA up to 900g of cannabis. Mr Power said the Australian Federal Police placed Morrison under surveillance after the dark web posts were linked to the former gym cleaner.

He said an AFP officer viewed the profile for YumCha on May 9, 2016, which showed he had 74 different drugs up for sale. “On 9 May 2016 the history for YumCha also showed there had been 345 previous sales and he had a very high satisfaction rating,” he said.

Police caught Morrison using a Brisbane Rd, Biggera Waters, shed to store the drugs. He would send them from the Harbour Town Shopping Centre post office via express post.

A police raid on June 2, 2016, found 441g of cocaine, 59g of methyl amphetamine, 165.5g MDMA and 500g of cannabis in Morrison’s Hope Island home and in the Biggera Waters shed.

Defence lawyer Adrian Braithwaite, instructed by Potts Lawyers, said Morrison had no other criminal history.