Christian Tachev: Perth man sentenced to 11 year for drug trafficking

Posted by Artie Phelan on Tuesday, May 21, 2024

A drug courier, who was caught red handed by police in suburban bushland where he had earlier buried up to $10 million worth of methamphetamine, has been sentenced to 11 years in jail.

In total, the Australian Federal Police said the drug haul linked to Christian Tachev, 25, had a street value of around $15 million.

He was arrested in April 2021. He pleaded guilty to trafficking in a commercial quantity of methamphetamine and dealing with proceeds of indictable crime in excess of $10,000 in March this year.

The former Curtin University student, from Willetton in Perth’s southern suburbs, had been watched by police burying and reburying drugs and cash in locations around Perth.

Cops looked on as Tachev transported 15 kilograms of methamphetamine as well as cash around the city as he worked as a drug and cash courier for a trafficking syndicate.

The court was told Tachev would receive GPS coordinates from his drug boss that would tell him where to bury drugs and cash or to dig them up and then where to take them.

But police were onto the ruse.

In March 2021, cops watched as he buried 10 kilograms of methamphetamine in scrub in Edgewater, close to Joondalup in the city’s north.

That haul was then picked up by someone else and subsequently seized by police.

Police were also watching bushland in Queens Park, in the city’s south, where Tachev had earlier been.

In that location, they found a duffel bag containing five kilograms of methamphetamine buried in a shallow hole.

Cameras set up by police clearly show Tachev, in a white singlet and gloves, returning to the location.

It’s been reported that Tachev was left baffled and panicked when after 25 minutes of digging he couldn’t find the duffel bag.

Tachev was arrested on April 6 last year at his work and found with $17,355 in cash, a shovel and dirty gardening gloves in his bag.

AFP Senior Constable Josh Gilmour said 15kg of meth could potentially have been sold to 150,000 people.

“People who move cash and drugs for criminal syndicates play a vital role in helping other members to profit from this damaging trade,” he said.

Tachev will serve seven years and six months in prison, backdated to his April 20121 arrest, before he can be considered for parole.

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