Guilty: Peter Nash, Silk Road internet drug ring operator, pleads guilty in NY court

FORMER Brisbane resident Peter Nash has pleaded guilty in a New York court to drug and money laundering charges through the black market website Silk Road.

FORMER Brisbane resident Peter Nash has pleaded guilty in a New York court to drug and money laundering charges through the black market website Silk Road.

The 42-year-old was a moderator on the underground internet bazaar Silk Road, a website that distributed large quantities of heroin, cocaine, LSD and methamphetamine.

Appearing in the Manhattan District Court, Nash confessed that his involvement as a website moderator was partly so he could obtain drugs for his own consumption.

Nash’s guilty plea comes a month after the mastermind of Silk Road, San Francisco-based creator Ross Ulbricht, also known by the alias Dread Pirate Roberts, was found guilty of distributing drugs, computer hacking and money laundering.

Kingpin ... Ross Ulbricht pictured with his sister, Cally. He is the convicted mastermind of drugs website Silk Road. Photo: Facebook.

He faces life in jail when sentenced on May 15.

Nash says he became aware of Silk Road in 2013 while he was employed as an intellectual disability support worker.

“My motivation was to buy controlled substances for my own use and to socialise,” he said.

Nash was extradited from Australia to the US in June last year. He told the court that police swooped on his home on the day he was set to travel to the UK to propose to his fiance.

Nash has rejected a prosecution plea deal, which means he is rolling the dice on a potential life sentence.

Web of deceit .. The Silk Road ‘underground’ drug sales network.

He told the court that while he was aware of the website’s role in moving $US200 million of drugs, he was not involved in their distribution and was employed to moderate the chat room “for scams … and to delete spam”.

He has rejected charges of computer hacking.

Nash said that he was paid between $US25,000 to $US30,000 for his 10-month involvement in Silk Road, much of which was spent on drugs for his personal use.

Off the menu ... A screenshot of underground drug website "Silk Road". Source: Supplied

He sat in court in his prison uniform looking pale and appearing contrite for his crimes.

“I deeply regret my conduct and any offence it might have caused,” he told Judge Thomas Griesa.

Nash has been held in Manhattan Correctional Centre since his extradition from Australia where he returned to after his 40-minute appearance in court.

He will be sentenced in New York on May 26.