Sam Karagiozis, a millionaire Bitcoin investor, has been identified as the man arrested last week for dark web drug trafficking in Australia.

Last week, BitcoinerX reported on law enforcement in Australia shutting down two cryptocurrency exchanges in connection to organized drug trafficking. The investigation had been ongoing for over a year by the Australian Federal Police (AFP), which eventually led to the arrest of a 27-year-old man who had been described as the central figure in a drug trafficking ring. The identity of the man in question, along with the two exchanges, has now been released.

Dark Web Drug Trafficking

The man arrested is Sam Karagiozis, a millionaire Bitcoin investor. Police executed search warrants on March 7th on various properties located in several Melbourne suburbs. Fiat, steroids, and cryptocurrency-related items were seized.

As for Sam Karagiozis, he was charged with possessing, importing, and distributing about 30 kilograms of cocaine, ketamine, MDMA, and methamphetamine. Law enforcement also seized about $2 million in assets, such as real estate, vehicles, fiat, and cryptocurrency.

AUSTRAC, the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre, shut down two cryptocurrency exchanges that Karagiozis was a part of. These two exchanges have been identified as AUSCOIN ATM and MK Buy & Sell (known as SK BTC). Police allege that Karagiozis is the key figure in a criminal syndicate that imported and sold narcotics using the dark web, Bitcoin accounts, and legitimate businesses (likely to launder money through).

Fall from Grace for Millionaire Bitcoin Investor

This marks a remarkable fall from grace for Sam Karagiozis. He describes himself as a self-made millionaire. His background is pretty fascinating. He dropped out of school at age 15 and worked at McDonalds. He then became a savvy businessman, restaurant owner, and property investor.

Karagiozis jumped on the Bitcoin bandwagon early, buying BTC at cheap prices. He increased his crypto investment by rolling out the first nationwide network of Bitcoin ATMs in Australia, which reportedly cost him $15 million.

Karagiozis loved to flaunt his wealth and status, He drove a Bentley and was friends with prominent Australian athletes. While he admitted he lost $3 million due to the fall in Bitcoin’s price from its all-time high of nearly $20,000, he remained bullish on the world’s foremost cryptocurrency. He said:

Let’s be real, it would be a lot nicer if it hadn’t dropped in value — I’m not going to sit here and say it doesn’t bother me — but at the end of the day, I believe in the long term … I only ever put in what I could afford to lose. I’m definitely confident bitcoin will get back to where it once peaked, and it will more than likely pass that again — however, I don’t think that will happen within a six-month period.

Karagiozis is now facing the possibility of a lifetime behind bars, and he was denied bail at his most recent court appearance. From riches to a jail cell, this is a remarkable tale of fallen fortunes.

Do you think this case will cause the media to yet again link cryptocurrency to the dark web and drugs? Let us know in the comments below.

Images courtesy of the Daily Mail and Pixabay.