A former South Australian police officer turned drug boss has been sentenced to 21 years in jail for trading drugs in what a court heard was a complex business run on the dark web.
Key points:
- Thomas Booker was a police officer in SA from 2014 to 2018
- He committed more than 50 drug dealing related offences
- His sentence was discounted because he pleaded guilty early in the court process
Thomas James Booker, 28, was sentenced in the District Court for selling cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy and hallucinogens in online deals run from two Adelaide houses between February 2021 and November 2022.
Booker pleaded guilty to more than 50 offences including commercial drug trafficking and money laundering during a previous court appearance.
On Friday, Judge Geraldine Davison said Booker’s offending would have attracted a 17-year jail term but considered that a “crushing sentence” given his prospects for rehabilitation.
It was discounted for his early guilty pleas to 15 years, with a 12-year non parole period, commencing in 2025.
Booker was also sentenced to six years in jail for Commonwealth offences, bringing his total sentence to 21 years.
The court ordered he serve a non-parole period of three years and two months for those offences before starting to serve the sentence for state offences from January 2025.
Booker worked as a police officer from 2014 to 2018 but resigned from SAPOL after a coronial inquest into the death of his wife.
Read more at
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-04-14/thomas-james-booker-sentencing/102222512
