Back in February, sisters Shanese Koullias, 24, and Patricia Koullias, 20, were arrested in connection with a dark web drug syndicate.
Now they're charged with counts of supplying drugs, dealing with the proceeds of crime and participating in a criminal group to assist crime.
The police were able to connect to the sisters to one of Australia's most-wanted dark web drug trade suspects.
Cody Ward, 25, was arrested alongside the Koullias sisters after the New South Wales police found reason to believe he was the one behind the dark web alias "NSWGreat," a known hacker and drug dealer on the dark web.
Shanese and Patricia Koullias depicted a glamourous life on social media, which authorities allege was being sponsored by proceeds from their illegal drug trade operation alongside Ward.
Their drug-dealing business is estimated to be worth $17 million, which is the largest to ever be taken down in Australia.
Ward and the Koullias sisters have all been denied bail by the Nowra Local Court.
The Drug Syndicate
Shanese and Patricia Koullias are now in police custody after being arrested by the New South Wales Police in connection with the drug syndicate allegedly operated by Ward.
Before the arrest, the sisters appeared to enjoy a life of partying and were fond of sharing details of their lives on social media.
Ward was also known to post photos on social media showing off his luxury vehicles, Bitcoin wealth and vacations.
The New South Wales police were able to unearth a drug syndicate which Ward operated from his house in the South Coast of New South Wales.
They were able to connect Ward to "NSWGreat," a darknet hacker and drug dealer under investigation by Interpol, Europol, the FBI, the Secret Service and Homeland Security.
Ward allegedly sold drugs on the dark web for a very long time before his arrest.
Investigations into drug syndicates on the dark Web usually take time due to the anonymous nature of the operators.
Ward, while operating as NSWGreat, had a reputation of being cocky and going as far as taunting law enforcement agencies.
He even claimed that he was too good at hacking to be caught by the police.
He would talk to the media, something which was unheard of among darknet operatives at the time.
While Ward was being confident and cocky about his hacking skills and anonymity, the police investigations were focusing on what the possible suspects were doing offline.
Apparently, his posts on social media turned out to be his downfall. It is the same fate that befell his alleged accomplices, Shanese and Patricia.
The sisters are now being held in a women's prison and are facing multiple charges related to drug trafficking.
Police statements indicate that Shanese and Patricia were tasked with the preparation, packaging and posting of the illegal drugs as they were being ordered on their dark web vendor platform.
They would disguise some of the drugs as candies as they distributed them.
Several Charges Filed
Ward, Shanese and Patricia were seen in press photos arriving at the Nowra Police Station after their arrest.
Shanese is facing a charge of voluntarily participating in a criminal group and assisting crime.
She also faces a charge of four counts of supplying illegal narcotics and knowingly benefiting from the proceeds of crime.
Patricia faces charges of voluntarily assisting and participating in a criminal group.
She also faces a charge of four counts of supplying illegal narcotics.
A day after his arrest, Ward was charged with four counts of supplying illegal drugs, and voluntarily participating in and assisting a criminal group.
He was also charged with knowingly benefiting from the proceeds of crime.
Even more charges were added to Ward's charge sheet in April. He now faces six more accounts of importing illegal drugs in commercial and marketable quantities.
Disclaimer:
The articles and content found on Dark Web News are for general information purposes only and are not intended to solicit illegal activity or constitute legal advice. Using drugs is harmful to your health and can cause serious problems including death and imprisonment, and any treatment should not be undertaken without medical supervision.
