More than 35 people were charged with selling drugs on the so-called dark web, the Justice Department announced on Tuesday, marking the first time that federal prosecutors made the sellers of illegal goods their primary focus rather than the operators of illicit online marketplaces.
The agents were able to seize cryptocurrency mining devices, weapons, narcotics, $3.6 million in U.S currency and gold bars, nearly 2,000 Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies worth over $20 million, , the DOJ said in an announcement
Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein said:
“Criminals who think that they are safe on the Darknet are wrong. We can expose their networks, and we are determined to bring them to justice. Today, we arrested more than 35 alleged Darknet vendors. We seized their weapons, their drugs, and $23.6 million of their ill-gotten gains. This nationwide enforcement effort will reduce the supply of deadly drugs like fentanyl that are killing an unprecedented number of Americans.”
The suspects were mostly in their 20s and 30s. Scattered across the country in states like New York, Maryland, Ohio, California and Vermont, they sold a variety of drugs including opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana, prosecutors said.
In most cases they accepted Bitcoin as payment, then attempted to launder that money through undercover agents who exchanged the coins for cash. The agents then had mailing addresses for the vendors, and were able to obtain data about who had owned the coins.
Bitcoin has long been the currency of choice for those looking to purchase illegal goods online. Its appeal is obvious: The currency is controlled by no bank or government, and it can be difficult to conclusively link a Bitcoin to a person.
But every Bitcoin transaction is recorded on what is known as a ledger called the blockchain. If you know what to look for, the transactions are essentially public. Cybersecurity experts have predicted that Bitcoin’s structure would eventually allow law enforcement to use it to make arrests.
HSI Acting Executive Associate Director Derek Benner added:
“The Darknet is ever-changing and increasingly more intricate, making locating and targeting those selling illicit items on this platform more complicated. But in this case, HSI special agents were able to walk amongst those in the cyber underworld to find those vendors who sell highly addictive drugs for a profit. The veil has been lifted. HSI has infiltrated the Darknet, and together with its law enforcement partners nationwide, it has proven, once again, that every criminal is within arm’s reach of the law.”
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