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A former Vice Canada editor and writer admitted Monday he conspired to import large quantities of cocaine into Australia.

Yaroslav Pastukhov, 28, who wrote under the name Slava Pastuk in his high-profile position as music editor with Vice Media’s Toronto operations, pleaded guilty to a drug conspiracy charge Monday afternoon.

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He is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 31.

The prosecution seeks a 12-year prison term while the defence is asking for “considerably less,” said Pastukhov’s lawyer, Dan Kirby.

“This is a serious offense and he stepped up to the plate and admitted his involvement. Court will hear later about the wheres and the whys,” Kirby said.

Faiyaz Alibhai, prosecutor with the Anti-Organized Crime Team of the Public Prosecution Service of Canada, declined to discuss details of the case because a co-accused is still before the court.

He stepped up to the plate and admitted his involvement

Soon after his plea, Pastukhov — who remains free on bail — took to Twitter to talk about “all that cocaine,” and to complain about National Post stories that first revealed his role working to recruit drug mules in Canada to smuggle cocaine from Las Vegas to Australia, many of them artists and journalists connected to Vice.