Canadian alleged darknet drug kingpin who died in prison worth 300 million dollars

It’s believed that the Canadian who may have been running a darknet site had a fortune in excess of THB10 billion (USD299 million) that he earned online.

He and his Thai wife, Sunisa Thapsuwan, are suspected of running AlphaBay, a darknet site trading in various illicit items, including drugs and firearms, reported Bangkok Post.

Alexandre Cazes, 26, of Quebec, Canada, died by hanging in his cell at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau on July 12, a week after he and Sunisa, his alleged accomplice, were taken into custody at their home in Bangkok’s outskirts.

The site, AlphaBay.com, is now closed and police are investigating since much of the site’s information was unprotected on laptops confiscated from the couple’s home.

All transactions on AlphaBay were made in cryptocurrency, such as Bitcoin, and Cazes allegedly took a cut of each sale.

At a briefing yesterday, Deputy Police Chief Chalermkiat Sriworakhan revealed that the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) worked alongside Thai authorities since Cazes had 16 outstanding charges, including drug offenses, in the U.S.

The two countries also had to call in help from authorities in Canada, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Cyprus, and Lithuania because the couple held property or accounts in all of those countries.

The deceased man was partway through the process of becoming an “economic citizen” of the island of Cyprus by buying a house there for THB117 million (USD3.5 million).

The US planned to seek extradition so that he would have to face his charges there.

The couple had 11 Thai bank accounts and four were in Sunisa’s name, she also held her own Bitcoin account.

Officials have already seized holdings in Thailand from the couple that include: four homes, a Lamborghini, a Porsche, a Mini Cooper, a BMW motorcycle, and digital currency worth THB255 million (USD7.6 million) and Lithuanian cash worth THB55 million (USD1.6 million) .

Around THB46 million (USD1.4 million) was taken from the couple’s Thai bank accounts, for a total worth of THB726 million (USD21.7 million) so far. They expect to find more as the investigation continues. From records they have seen, they expect the total to reach at least THB10 billion (USD299 million).

It is alleged that the man hanged himself due to all the charges he was facing. He had no other injuries. So far, his wife is the only Thai involved in the case.

The case will move forward despite the death of Cazes.