Trio are accused of sending drugs including MDMA and LSD to buyers around Australia

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Three people accused of selling and distributing drugs worth more than $17m have been charged in what police believe is the “first and largest penetration of the dark web” in Australia.

The trio – a 25-year-old man and two women, aged 20 and 24 – were arrested on Thursday as part of a broader investigation into drug supply dating back to 2018.

It came after detectives uncovered a “sophisticated online drug distribution network” operating from the south coast of New South Wales.

Police will allege the 25-year-old man has been operating as an online vendor on the dark web, selling illegal drugs and prescription medications for several years.

The women are accused of packaging and posting the orders which included MDMA, LSD and methamphetamine, to buyers across Australia.

“This is probably the first and largest penetration of the dark web in Australia and it’s resulted in taking out a syndicate who have dealt around $17m of drugs across the nation,” the acting assistant police commissioner Stuart Smith told reporters in Sydney on Friday.

After raids on five properties in the south coast and Sydney on Thursday morning, he said, officers recovered 2.5kg of white powder, 200g of MDMA, more than 100,000 LSD tabs and a significant quantity of Xanax made to look like candy.

Sophisticated computer equipment, a significant quantity of cash and several vehicles including a Maserati and a Mercedes-Benz were also seized.

All three of those arrested are charged with large commercial drug distribution offences and were refused bail to appear at Nowra local court on Friday.