15 years for Ryan Coleman
A Torquay drug dealer has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for running a dark web drug operation from his home.
Ryan Coleman, 36, from Sherwell Valley Road pleaded guilty to accepting cryptocurrency as payment for selling cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis, and ketamine.
Mr Coleman used the cryptocurrency payments to fund a lavish lifestyle, including holidays, sporting events, and a personal trainer.
Police seized £3.1 million in cryptocurrency, which is held virtually in online wallets accessed by recovery seeds.
Before turning himself in, Coleman tried to hide about half of his assets, £550,000 in crypto assets, but police recovered the information.
He operated under a fake name on dark web marketplaces for six years, even after some were shut down.
The seized cryptocurrency will be reinvested into police operations and good causes, with half going to public services.
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