A hospitality worker forced to move back in with his family due to financial hardship was secretly running one of Australia's largest darknet drug distribution operations from his bungalow bedroom.
To infiltrate Benjamin Sheppard's vast encrypted network, police had to crack coded communications and spend significant sums in Bitcoin, before finally identifying him as the sole operator.
asserted
police → force → operator
Investigators ultimately uncovered that Sheppard conducted more than $2million in drug sales between September 2023 and October last year.
asserted
Sheppard → uncover → September
During that period, Sheppard trafficked nearly 13kg of MDMA and almost 12kg of ketamine through his darknet marketplace, 'ApexSupplies'.
asserted
Sheppard → traffic → marketplace
Victoria Police discovered ApexSupplies in January last year after launching Operation Vitreous in August 2023.
asserted
Police → discover → August
As part of the investigation, officers were stationed at the Australia Post facility at Melbourne Airport, scanning parcels for drugs.
asserted
officers → station → drugs
The Melbourne County Court heard police were appointed as authorised examiners of Australia Post articles, which were checked by x-ray, drug dog, or both.
asserted
which → hear → x
Suspicious parcels were set aside and inspected, leading to the seizure of a large number of packages containing drugs en route to various locations around Australia.
asserted
parcels → set → Australia
Benjamin Sheppard ran one of Australia's largest darknet drug empires.
asserted
Sheppard → run → empires
These seizures led police to Sheppard and ApexSupplies, which they identified as an online darknet retailer selling MDMA, ketamine, LSD, and the psychedelic 2C-B.
ApexSupplies was only accessible via Tor - an anonymous routing technology designed to conceal user identities.
Tor also hides the websites users visit by directing traffic through different, random routes.
asserted
users → lead → routes
The court heard illicit goods from these darknet 'black markets' could only be bought with cryptocurrency, including Bitcoin or Monero.
uncertain
goods → hear → Bitcoin
ApexSupplies listed its privacy key on the darknet marketplace 'Drughub', which allowed customers to send Sheppard's black market store an encrypted message.
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customers → list → message
The court heard ApexSupplies would then decrypt the message with its own personal key.
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ApexSupplies → hear → key
The sophisticated operation meant the keys form a pair, but ApexSupplies decryption key was not publicly advertised and was known only by Sheppard.
asserted
key → mean → Sheppard
Police also seized large amounts of white and brown crystal substance, various coloured pills and tablets, ziplock bags of strips resembling LSD 'tabs', a mixing bowl and crushing tool, as well as various bundles of cash which totalled $10,000.
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which → seize → 10,000
Investigators were able to infiltrate and engage with the ApexSupplies website which listed the drugs for sale and for how much for a specific quantity.
asserted
which → infiltrate → quantity
These included a price range of $130 for a gram of pure ketamine and $2,100 for an ounce of MDMA.
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These → include → MDMA
ApexSupplies also had a forum for user feedback and complaints, offered deals on bulk purchases, gave information about drug purity and had 'stealth policies' for 'intercepted products'.
Users also shared advice and experiences about drug use on the website's message boards.
asserted
Users → have → boards
In May 2025, online covert Victoria Police operatives purchased 10 x 300mg MDMA pills for 0.00249920 BTC ($399) and seven grams of MDMA crystal 'pure champagne' for 0.00266784 BTC ($427).
uncertain
operatives → purchase → BTC
Police ascertained the ApexSupplies parcels were marked with distinctive 'eBay Plus' labels.
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parcels → ascertain → labels
The parcels contained pills branded with a red 'anarchy' symbol, which police established was the trademark drug stamp of ApexSupplies.
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police → contain → ApexSupplies
Operation Vitreous investigators identified Sheppard after reviewing CCTV footage showing him and another man posting items linked to the 'eBay Plus' parcels.
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him → identify → parcels
Police traced Sheppard to his Belgrave South home in Melbourne's outer east and placed him under surveillance in June last year.
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Police → trace → June
He was seen using Coles and Woolworths reusable green shopping bags to transport drugs, which were then posted by the other man.
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which → see → man
Police arrested Sheppard at his Belgrave-Hallam Road home on 8 October last year.
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Police → arrest → October
Investigators smashed a screen door to gain entry into a bungalow at the property where they arrested Sheppard and seized plastic tubs marked 'Peanut Needles', 'Champagne' and 'Red XTC' from a safe inside the room.
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they → smash → room
Police also seized large amounts of white and brown crystal substance, various coloured pills and tablets, ziplock bags of strips resembling LSD 'tabs', a mixing bowl and crushing tool, as well as various bundles of cash which totalled $10,000.
asserted
which → seize → 10,000
Cops also seized assorted handwritten notes and notepads, which had records of 'large quantities of drugs matched with Australia Post tracking labels'.
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which → seize → labels
A detective found passwords for Sheppard's cryptocurrency accounts on his phone, enabling police to transfer 0.12736866 Bitcoin ($23,600 AUD) into a Victoria Police digital wallet.
Police also discovered spreadsheets and notes showing that 1,133 parcels were mailed between April and August 2024.
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parcels → find → April
Shipment logs, covering June 2024 to October 2025, included details of intercepted parcels and recorded corresponding losses.
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logs → cover → losses
The records showed 163 drug orders were intercepted, resulting in a business loss of $66,789, the court heard.
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court → show → 66,789
Excel spreadsheets seized by police documented total drug sales between September 2023 and October 2025, recording a turnover of $2,171,192.
During his police interview, Sheppard told investigators that the safe inside the bungalow contained 600 MDMA pills, 200g of ketamine, a further 350g of MDMA, and 400 tabs of LSD.
Sheppard also admitted his 'intention was to sell those drugs on darknet websites for cryptocurrency, confirmed his vendor name was 'ApexSupplies' and he was the 'only person running that business'.
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he → seize → business
He told police he usually mailed drugs out three times a week and avoided buying AusPost packaging in bulk because it 'would be suspicious and cash is suspicious'.
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cash → tell → bulk
He told officers he shipped his drugs in 'decoy cat food packaging'.
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he → tell → packaging
Sheppard claimed he got into the drug business after 'clubbing regularly in late 2023'.
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he → claim → 2023
He said he swapped details with his own MDMA dealer who 'proposed they go into a business partnership together'.
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they → say → partnership
Sheppard said he was 'financially motivated because he wasn't making much money in hospitality' and had to move back in with his family in his 20s, so the opportunity was 'too good to refuse'.
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opportunity → say → 20s
It is not suggested that Ben Sheppard's parents were in any way involved or had knowledge of their son's drug activities.
uncertain
parents → suggest → activities
The drug dealer also told police he had considered the impact drugs have on buyers and claimed they imposed strict limits on what they sold.
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they → tell → what
'Which is why it's just MDMA, ketamine and LSD, no heroin, cocaine, or methylamphetamine, because of the harm they do to society,' Sheppard told police.
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Sheppard → do → police
The court heard Sheppard 'accepts the risk of overdose and abuse are still present in psychedelics'.
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risk → hear → psychedelics
…and 1 more, not listed.
The Aporia
