A series of bombshell encrypted communications purportedly from an accused Australian drug ring affiliated with a Colombian gang purportedly likened their business to the television show Breaking Bad.
Rhys Alwyn Ferszt, a 33-year-old lifeguard and champion bodybuilder, works for the Gold Coast Council as a roads and drainage officer, but he is also suspected of being the head of a $175 million cocaine production ring.
In the rural Queensland town of Durong, where police recently found 100kg of pure extracted cocaine, he is accused of organising the $250,000 construction of a cocaine laboratory.
Now, specifics of alleged communications between co-accused Gregory William Murphy, 36, also known as Loyalty Sidekick 2.0 in the texts, and Ferszt, who went by the codename Loyalty on the encrypted messaging app Threema, have been made public.
Murphy is alleged to have said: “When I unloaded it, it looked like Breaking Bad.” The two are said to have talked about the vast array of chemicals they need.
When opposing Ferszt’s request for bail while being investigated for conspiring to produce a commercial quantity of a controlled substance, the Australian Federal Police filed the texts as evidence in the Supreme Court.
On July 21, while taking a “mid-career break” from his council job, he was detained outside a Darwin gym.
According to the Courier-Mail, Ferszt requested release on bail in an affidavit to the court so that he could participate in a bodybuilding contest the following month.
“I intend to contest the charges,” he continued, “and deny the inferences that are alleged to have been drawn by investigating officers.”
The federal police fought the bail, claiming that Ferszt had been trained in drug production methods by 48-year-old Colombian chemist Fabio Alberto Fernandez Pulgarin.
To teach Ferszt and others how to extract large amounts of cocaine, the expert allegedly flew into Australia on May 18.
However, police were keeping an eye on the operation, and specifics of their alleged conversations were presented as proof.
When building the alleged Dugong drug lab, Murphy is said to have informed Ferszt in the transcripts: “Like wtf I didn’t know what to believe when I saw what unloaded today.”
While Murphy claims says there was ammonia, hydrochloric acid, and “glass bottles of s***,” Ferszt apparently attempts to explain to his buddy that it was merely cleaning supplies and paint.
It’s all available over the shelf, Ferszt supposedly responds.
The two are also said to have discussed their concerns about neighbours finding out what they are up to. Murphy is said to have added, “I hope neighbours are not inquisitive.”
Well, if we don’t make contact, they won’t, Ferszt reportedly responds.
It is said that Ferszt added, “That’s why they requested so remote,” following Murphy’s statement that he was more worried about the scent emanating from the narcotics operation.
The two reportedly had another argument in June about a shopping list that Ferszt allegedly wanted Murphy to purchase.
Where will I find half of this stuff? Upon receiving a communication from Murphy, Ferszt supposedly responds, “Science shops enjoy test tubes and piles.”
Additional claimed texts between Murphy and another co-accused, 31-year-old Douglas Sinnamon, seem to allude to a schism within the purported syndicate.
Murphy reportedly complains that Ferszt “stresses” him out since he wants things done as “soon” as possible yet “doesn’t do anything” himself and has “too much time on his hands.”
According to reports, Sinnamon responds, “Yeah, just throw money at an issue, but also make sure nothing’s suss.”
But when you start claiming that you want your shed done a full year before everyone else, that’s when things become awkward.
And f***en make it happen; I’ll pay you in cash.
“Do they want it to not be suss, or what?” It’s quite perplexing.
The next day, Murphy is reported to have added that Ferszt serves as “the connector between here and abroad.”
Police are also accused of listening in on a discussion between Murphy and another co-accused, Benjamin Williams, 30, about the quality of the coke being made inside a vehicle.
Williams is reported to have said, “I’m buzzing off my f***ing head c***, and so are you,” while Murphy is heard allegedly saying to a passerby, “If my employer asks, we had one test here.”
“That is so powerful, I’ve never had anything like that,” Williams supposedly says. It burned my f***ing insides, and it’s unlike any coke we’ve ever had, is it not?
According to reports, Murphy responds, “It white s*** was powder, and then they’ll combine that with the f***ing chlorine flakes, and then they’ll press it all.” Use anhydrous soap to clean it. That’s pure cocaine, buddy.
I f***ing know it is, Williams supposedly says. That much is obvious to me. Pure as f***ing it gets. Oh, my God.
Growing up on the Gold Coast, Denis Cotterell, who also coached Olympic swimming winners Grant Hackett and Giaan Rooney, served as Ferszt’s mentor.
At the London Olympic trials, he raced with Hackett and against Ky Hurst in the 2011 Australian 10 km open water championships, coming in 10th.
Additionally, he was a lifeguard for the Gold Coast City Council’s lifeguard programme.
According to police, Ferszt was informed about a cocaine shipment that had been brought into NSW, which finally resulted in the group’s collective arrests.
It is alleged that Ferszt and two other men loaded 11 bricks of cocaine onto a grill before transporting it to Brisbane to be reloaded into two refrigerators.
The next man to take the refrigerators was stopped by NSW police.
Following a search of Ferszt’s NT home, police reportedly found steroids, firearms, $60,000 in cash, a paper shredder, and a notebook with the headings “Aus, Key, Overflow, and Stash Bag.”
He was subsequently detained after being captured in the Northern Territory and transferred to Queensland, where he has since been placed under house arrest.
Michael Gatenby, the defence attorney, informed the Supreme Court that some of the prosecution’s evidence was inaccurate and was intended to demonstrate whether Ferszt had access to “significant” sums of illegal funds.
He claimed that his client was on a break from his council work, which he would return to if released on bail, and had access to a reliable source of money.
According to Justice Declan Kelly, a letter the council gave to the court confirming Ferszt was on paid leave at the time of the offence corroborated the accusation.
The prosecution said he posed a flight risk, a danger of committing new crimes, and a risk of tampering with case witnesses.
Mr. Gatenby countered that bail was acceptable and that his client wasn’t a flight risk. He also said that his client would report to police from Monday through Friday, give up his passport, and provide a $200,000 guarantee.
With the terms set out in the bail application, Justice Kelly decided to grant it.
Ferszt will now be bound by stringent bail requirements, such as a restriction on using any encrypted applications on his phone. Passwords and complete access to his phone must also be made available to bail officials upon request, as well.