Australian National Pleads Guilty to Participating in Drug Trafficking and Money Laundering Conspiracy

MIAMI - On July 29, Jordan Curry, 42, an Australian national from Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), pled guilty to participating in a conspiracy to launder money and import cocaine from South America through the United States to Australia.

According to the agreed upon factual proffer, from 2019 to 2021, Curry led an international drug trafficking and money laundering organization. While based in Dubai, Curry partnered with other conspirators, to launder drug proceeds and traffic in ton-size quantities of cocaine and methamphetamine from South America and Mexico, to Australia and Europe. Further, Curry, his co-defendant, and other conspirators in Australia formed a commission of high-level drug traffickers to keep drug prices up. Once the cocaine arrived in Sydney, they distributed it to Melbourne. Curry discussed having full control of drug trafficking in Australia since it was their organization who controlled the trade in-country.

On June 28, 2019, Curry coordinated two separate cash drops in Greater Sydney, Australia. The total amount delivered by Curry, via his couriers, was $1,000,200 Australian Dollars (AUD) ($692,628.50 U.S. dollars (USD)). The money was sent to various U.S. based bank accounts. Curry created a group chat on July 8, 2019, which included a co-conspirator in Colombia, to coordinate the delivery of the pesos in Bogota, Colombia. Between July 10 and July 25, 2019, there were six separate payouts in Bogota totaling $1,885,161,000 Colombian pesos, all of which were given to couriers at the direction of Curry. Each time, either Curry or his co-conspirator, or both, confirmed the payments were received. On July 23, 2019, Curry stated that he wanted to finalize laundering as quickly as possible to "get my job over the line" (to get a cocaine load released into the country).

Starting in 2020, during an undercover operation, Curry negotiated for a load of cocaine to be sent from Colombia through Mexico to the U.S., specifically Los Angeles, and from there to Australia. Curry said he wanted "powder please bricks." On April 8, 2021, Curry was to receive 50 kilograms of cocaine for the first delivery. In order to obtain the cocaine, Curry was going to send a courier in Australia with the cash payment. Curry set up a group chat that included his money courier. In the group chat, the courier sent photos of three duffle bags all full of Australian dollars that were neatly bundled in rubber bands and sealed in cellophane wrap. Australian law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on the courier's vehicle and discovered the three bags containing a total of $2,996,610 AUD (approximately $2,284,876 USD).

Curry is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 16 before U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga. He faces up to life in prison. Judge Altonaga will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida and Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Miami Field Division announced the plea.

DEA Miami Field Division conducted this investigation with the DEA Sydney Resident Office and the Athens County Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Monique Botero prosecuted this case. The U.S. Attorney's Office and DEA would like to thank international law enforcement partners including Queensland Police Service, New South Wales Police Force, Western Australia Police Force, Australian Federal Police, Hellenic Police, and the Hellenic Republic Ministry of Justice, as well as Justice Department's Office of International Affairs for their crucial assistance in this investigation.

The indictment is a result of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigations. The OCDETF mission is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the US, using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency task force approach. OCDETF synchronizes and incentivizes prosecutors and agents to lead smart, creative investigations targeting the command-and-control networks of organized criminal groups and the illicit financiers that support them. Additional information about the OCDETF Program may be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Members of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force carried out this case and prosecution. HIDTA was established in 1990. This program, which is made up of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, fosters intra-agency cooperation among law enforcement agencies in South Florida and involves them in developing a strategy to target the region's drug-related and violent crime threats to public safety, as with the opioid epidemic, fentanyl, and the cocaine threat to our nation. South Florida HIDTA uses the funding provided by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, out of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, that sponsors a variety of law enforcement initiatives that target the region's illicit drug and violent crime threats to our community.