Market Researcher Couldn’t Resist the Temptation to Buy Drugs From the Dark Web

A man with a history of drug abuse from Hobart, Tasmania, Australia was sentenced for purchasing narcotics from the dark web. During his court trial, the defendant admitted he couldn’t resist the temptation to buy drugs from the darknet.

Beven Walker Dwyer, 30, was sentenced on July 6 for importing cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, and the hallucinogenic drug DOM into Tasmania from the dark web. According to the documents at the Supreme Court in Hobart, the 30-year-old market researcher purchased the narcotics from a dark web marketplace.

Tasmania was affected by the dark web trade, which was revealed in a research by law enforcement authorities. According to the study, Tasmania Police badges were up for sale on the dark side of the internet. However, the researchers did not specify the marketplace where the illegal products were sold.

As most of the underground market listings, the police badges were accompanied with a description and photos, latter showing the security features of the original. A police spokeswoman told the media that the products advertised “does appear to be a very similar likeness to the Tasmania Police badge.” The vendor claimed in his listing that the ID card can be customized by the customers’ requirements and can be purchased in a bundle for $150. In addition to the police badges, the Australian federal police confirmed that the Medicare card numbers of the citizens were sold on the dark web. Authorities claimed in a statement that they had contacted the victims with the exposed personal information.

Dwyer’s case started when law enforcement authorities intercepted a parcel on June 5, 2015, under the name Robert Larsen on the way to the address of the 30-year-old. Ten days passed, and the Tasmania Police intercepted another two packages containing narcotics with the same addressing. Law enforcement replaced the drugs with harmless substances and sent the parcel to a post office waiting for Dwyer to show up. When the defendant tried to pick up the package, investigators arrested him. A week later, authorities intercepted two international deliveries addressed to the defendant containing cocaine and ecstasy. Law enforcement estimates the total value of the narcotics is over $9,500.

Despite the amount of drugs, the jury cleared Dwyer of drug trafficking, however, he was found guilty on three minor counts of importing controlled substances. The defendant pleaded guilty to a fourth count of importation. The 30-year-old admitted that he shared a portion of the narcotics with housemates along with sending some of the narcotics to dark web users for free.

According to the court records, the defendant moved to Tasmania from Queensland in 2009 to stay clear of drugs since he had major issues with substance abuse. However, moving to a new part of the country resulted in Dwyer becoming socially isolated. The court also heard the man was actively browsing the dark web where he discovered marketplaces.

“He described this as like being in a shopping mall. Drugs were freely available at a low cost,” Acting Justice David Porter said. Porter said Dwyer couldn’t resist the temptation, which resulted in the recompence of his “polysubstance abuse”. Despite the 30-year-old did not make any profits from the sale of narcotics, Judge Porter said the prison time was necessary “for the purposes of denunciation and deterrence”. The judge sentenced Dwyer to four months in prison, which was suspended for 18 months. In addition to the jail sentence, the defendant was ordered to pay $3,450, which equates the cost law enforcement spent on analyzing the drugs delivered from international drug vendors.