A 39-year-old California man entered a guilty plea in federal court on May 2 for engaging in a conspiracy to distribute large quantities of illegal drugs by offering them on the so-called “dark web”. The man also admitted to laundering illicit drug money by purchasing cryptocurrencies. As part of his plea agreement, he agreed to forfeit millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies.
According to the prosecutors who are handling the case, the man faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years in federal prison. The man admitted that he bought and sold drugs on the dark web from 2014 until he was arrested in June 2017. He used several different anonymous handles to engage in illegal drug transactions on several dark web marketplaces.
The man reportedly purchased carfentanil and sold fentanyl. He also reportedly bought and sold many other drugs, including methamphetamine, ketamine, psilocybin and many others. When officers raided his home, they seized 1.7 grams of carfentanil, which is 100 times more powerful than fentanyl. He also purchased between 600 and 1200 fentanyl tabs per week from a dark web vendor from Oklahoma. That man pleaded guilty in Oklahoma federal court and is currently waiting to be sentenced.
Drug trafficking may be prosecuted in state or federal court. When the quantities are large, federal charges may be likelier. People who are facing serious drug charges may want to get help from attorneys who are experienced with handling cases in both state and federal court. The attorneys may negotiate for their clients to try to secure favorable pleas. They might be able to secure plea offers to lesser charges and reduced potential prison sentences by negotiating with the prosecutors.
Source; FOX 5, “Local man admits selling huge quantities of illegal drugs on ‘dark web’“, May 2, 2018
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