Dark web drug dealer Cody Ward sentenced to 14 years

Hannah RyanAAP
VideoDark web investigation into NSW teen Cody Ward

A depressed and bullied teen who grew into a dark web drug kingpin will serve at least 10 years in prison for his crimes.

Cody Ward, 27, pleaded guilty to multiple drug charges carrying a maximum sentence of life in prison before being sentenced on Friday afternoon.

NSW District Court Judge Robyn Tupman said the man had “excellent” prospects of rehabilitation as she sentenced him to 14 years in total, with a decade non-parole period dated back to his February arrest.

The earliest he’ll be free to walk out of prison is in 2029.

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Ward operated a dark web drug business from his Callala Bay home on the state’s south coast for about four years under the pseudonym of NSWGreat.

Following his arrest in February 2019, he was allegedly found with MDMA, 2.5 kilograms of cocaine, amphetamine, 100,000 LSD tabs, Xanax disguised as candy, pills, $80,000 cash, laptops and money counters.

Judge Tupman accepted that Ward’s social anxiety contributed to him using drugs to self-medicate.

He adopted the alter ego of a cyber-criminal drug dealer as he played Grand Theft Auto, she said.

Camera IconHacker Cody Ward was the mastermind behind a multi-million dollar dark web drug syndicate. Instagram Credit: METHODE
Camera IconCody Ward. Credit: Supplied

He started to obtain drugs via the internet. He became obsessed with it, ultimately setting up the drug network.

She said his drug offending gave him a community that he did not otherwise have.

“At the time he did not think about the moral implications of what he was doing,” the judge said.

“That is something he has come to understand and accept since going into custody.”

The young man has lost 25kg since entering prison, no longer uses drugs, and attends church regularly.

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