‘One-man-band’ Felix Boo made tens of thousands of pounds buying drugs online and selling them on the Telegram app, before attempting to launder the money by purchasing luxury Rolex watches and digital currencies.
The 24-year-old bought his drugs on the dark web, but his criminal enterprise was discovered when Border Force officers intercepted a parcel containing nearly 300g of cannabis destined for his father’s address in Whitstable, Kent.
After admitting possession with intent to supply cannabis, cocaine and ketamine – and to the importation of cannabis – Boo was jailed for three years at Canterbury Crown Court.
The court heard Boo masterminded his drugs operation online from a bedroom in his dad’s house.
At the ‘click of a button’, the then-21-year-old procured commercial quantities of Class A and B drugs from as far away as America and sold them via the social media platform Telegram.
In a bid to evade authorities, Boo laundered tens of thousands of pounds through the purchase of luxury watches and digital currency, making large deposits into Monzo and Lloyds bank accounts.
But his scheme was unearthed in May 2022 when Border Force intercepted a parcel containing cannabis weighing 289 grams bound for his address.
The shocking extent of Boo’s offending surfaced when police descended on his address shortly after Border Force’s discovery, prosecutor Jeremy Kingsford explained.
Not only did officers seize a haul of cannabis, cocaine and ketamine with a street value of up to £25,000, but they also discovered £42,860 in cash and other luxury items.
Among them were genuine Rolex watches, including a Sky Dweller and GMT Master II – which retail for more than £10,000 each.
Mr Kingsford explained that when officers uncovered two phones ‘consistent with drug supply’, Boo had refused to hand the passwords over.
The force launched a probe into his finances after he claimed to be unemployed and gave a ‘no comment’ police interview.
The probe uncovered bank accounts with deposits of nearly £60,000, including cryptocurrency, alongside an online Monzo account with a turnover of £50,000, the court heard.
Supported by his parents in the public gallery, Boo could be seen taking deep breaths in the dock before his sentence was handed down.
Judge Simon James told Boo he’d made ‘massive financial profits’ that were ‘laundered, by you, into crptocurrency’.
He described Boo as the architect of a ‘very profitable business’ which allowed him to ‘buy Rolex watches and other luxury items’.
“You had the ability to source cannabis over the internet and use the app Telegram to sell it widely, eventually branching into selling ketamine and cocaine,” Judge James said.
“Commercial drug dealing on this scale is too serious for anything but an immediate term of imprisonment to be justified.”
The court heard Boo finished school shortly before the Covid-19 pandemic and, during lockdowns, became socially isolated in his bedroom with an intensifying cannabis habit.
Henry Hughes, mitigating, described Boo finding himself in a world where the Class B drug could be bought online ‘with the press of a button’.
He said Boo’s immaturity and naivety saw him then become a ‘one-man band dealing directly to users’ by unsophisticated means.
Speaking of a time Boo had a drugs package sent to his father’s address, Mr Hughes said: “The only disguise he used was putting an ‘n’ on the end of his name.
“His family have no criminal views or characteristics.
“He was brought up with the ethos of hard work and respect for the law and authority.”
Boo admitted three counts of possession with intent to supply cannabis, cocaine and ketamine, to the import of cannabis, and to concealing, disguising, converting, transferring, or removing criminal property, namely money.