Cody Ward: Mastermind of $17M dark web drug syndicate to spend at least 10 years behind bars
He was in charge of Australia's longest running dark web drug syndicate and now he will spend at least 10 years behind bars for his crimes.
The South Coast News
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The baby-faced south coast kingpin behind a $17 million dark web drug syndicate will spend at least 10 years behind bars after facing a maximum of life imprisonment.
Cody Ronald Ward, 27, known as dark web vendor ‘NSWGreat’, pleaded guilty to three counts of importing a commercial quantity of a border controlled drug and three counts of supplying a prohibited drug greater than a commercial quantity last year, blaming his time spent in the online world of “virtual drug dealing” for his offending.
District Court Judge Robyn Tupman sentenced a slim looking Ward to 14 years behind bars, with a non-parole period of 10 years in Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Friday for his role as the mastermind of the syndicate.
Judge Tupman told the court Ward’s sophisticated cryptocurrency business conducted 10,500 transactions over the Dream Market marketplace, becoming the longest running dark web drug vendor in Australia.
Facing a maximum of life in prison, the court heard Ward has lost 25 kilograms during his two years in custody.
Ward pleaded guilty to importing 1651.99g of MDMA, 1916.5g of amphetamine and 88,308 tabs of LSD between 2018 and 2019. A number of packages were intercepted by Australian Border Force and NSW Police.
He also pleaded guilty to supplying 2759 tabs of LSD, 1.19kg of amphetamine and 225g of MDMA.
The court heard, Ward ordered the drugs from overseas before posting it to post office boxes across the Shoalhaven and Illawarra to pseudonyms including “Angus Harris”, “Oliver White”, “George Smith” and “Luke Dennison”.
The court heard Ward used the money from the syndicate to buy cruises for friends as well as a number of cars, including a written-off Maserati for $7000.
Judge Tupman told the court Ward had written a letter to the court expressing contrition and remorse, and said a social anxiety disorder led him to a “reclusive and isolated” lifestyle online and a heroin addiction.
She told the court he had been suicidal as a teenager due to bullying at school, and had a blade pulled on him in an alleged extortion attempt by a fellow inmate while in custody in Goulburn.
Fellow syndicate member Shanese Koullias, 24, of Callala Bay was sentenced to eight years in prison with a non-parole period of five years in the Downing Centre District Court in February meaning with time served she would be released in 2024.
She pleaded guilty to three counts of supplying a prohibited drug greater than a large commercial quantity last year.
Her sister Patricia, 22 of Quakers Hill, pleaded guilty last year to three counts of supplying an indictable quantity of a prohibited drug and participating in a criminal group contributing to criminal activity.
She broke down in tears when Judge Tupman sentenced her via audio visual link in December to three years in prison with a non-parole period of 22 months.
Ward’s sentence will be back dated to his arrest on February 14, 2019, meaning he will be paroled in 2029.
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