Cody Ward‘s lawyer blames Grand Theft Auto for $17M dark web syndicate

A man who made millions selling drugs on the dark web has blamed his obsession with Grand Theft Auto for his crimes.

The baby-faced south coast mastermind behind a $17 million dark web drug syndicate wasn’t doing it for the money but was hooked on the online world of “virtual drug dealing”, a court has heard.

Cody Ronald Ward, 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.

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.

Cody Ward was the mastermind behind a multimillion dollar dark web drug syndicate. Picture: Instagram

District Court Judge Robyn Tupman told the Downing Centre District Court on Friday it was “breathtaking” Ward’s offending, which involved ordering drugs from overseas online before posting it to post office boxes across the Shoalhaven, wasn’t picked up sooner by police.

Ward’s defence lawyer told the court his client suffered from mental health issues, and blamed his obsession with a modified version of the computer game Grand Theft Auto for his offending.

He told the court the game had helped “desensitised” Ward to selling drugs, and became a “virtual world” where he could “lose himself” after being “ostracised” and “outcast” by his peers as a teenager due to his weight and social anxiety.

The court heard Ward has taken up meditation and has been visiting church since his arrest. Picture: Instagram

“It was an extension of a computer game, he wasn’t doing it to make money,” he told the court.

“He didn’t really appreciate the effect these drugs had on people.”

The court heard Ward turned to drugs, including heroin, at the age of 16, and video games helped him “avoid schoolyard abuse”. He became obsessed with the “digital crime lifestyle”, the court heard.

Ward was looking for acceptance for his IT skills, and “simply bought lots of drugs on the dark net using simplistic tools”, the court heard.

The court heard Ward has spent his time on remand attending church and meditating, and become a “model prisoner”.

Cody Ward will be sentenced at the Downing Centre District Court later this year.

The court heard Ward has “come clean” from his drug use and has “continued on a path of redemption”.

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 earlier this month, 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.

Patricia and Shanese Koullias have been sentenced over their roles in the syndicate. Picture: Facebook

She broke down in tears when NSW District Court Judge Robyn Tupman sentenced her via audio visual link in December to three years in prison with a non-parole period of 22 months.

Ward was unaware Shanese had hired her sister to work for her packaging and posting the drugs to customers, the court heard.

The court heard Ward has used the proceeds of his offending to buy a “modest” home in Callala Bay, a $70,000 Mercedez Benz and a “written off” Maserati for $7000.

Judge Tupman told the court she would adjourn the matter to a time “not in the immediate future” for sentencing due to her busy schedule.

Ward will be sentenced at the Downing Centre District Court on April 24.