A dark web marketplace drug lord who sold drugs such as ecstasy, ketamine and Xanax on a hard-to-reach Internet marketplace will spend eight years in prison and surrender about $2 million worth of bitcoin in Massachusetts' first "federal forfeiture.
According to the Boston Herald, Binh Thanh Le of Brockton, Massachusetts, who started the "EastSideHigh" store selling drugs on the dark web's Wall Street Marketplace, was recently sentenced to eight years in prison and will forfeit about $2.3 million worth of bitcoin.
This sentence sends a clear message to dark web criminals that the federal government is getting into this area," said Rachael Rollins, U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts. We will find you, and we will hold you accountable."
Rollins added, "Thanks to the excellent work of our colleagues in law enforcement, there is one less cybercriminal hiding in the shadows."
Following the expiration of his prison sentence, Le will be subject to three more years of supervision following his release.
EastSideHigh
Binh Thanh Le, 25, of Brockton, was a drug supplier on the dark web when he opened his "EastSideHigh" storefront on the dark web's Wall Street Marketplace at the age of 22. He had a variety of drugs, such as Xanax, ecstasy and ketamine, which he sold in cryptocurrency. Some he made himself and others he shipped from countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Canada.
His illegal business brought him profits of about 59 bitcoins, which were first seized in a law enforcement operation in March 2019. Today's news indicates that these seized bitcoins are now being confiscated. the value of these funds in 2019 was approximately $200,000, a far cry from today's price tag of over $2 million.
In addition to the aforementioned funds, Le held over $114,000 in cash and earned over $42,000 from the sale of a used car.
Le was indicted in June 2019 along with two other Brockton men, Steven McCall and Allante Pires - who the FBI says drove a black Mercedes S550, which retailed for nearly $97,000 in 2017, while working at the business - for allegedly conspiring to manufacture and distribute drugs. Authorities seized more than 44 pounds of ecstasy, more than 15 pounds of ketamine and more than 10,000 Xanax pills during the investigation, according to prosecutors.
The end of Le's empire was not due to a lack of high-tech capabilities, but rather the simple fact that physical substances like drugs must still pass through low-tech mail systems to reach their destinations. But the drug entrepreneur, who produced and distributed drugs from a rented office in Stoughton, was even creative in this regard, using the fictitious names "Dajour Cox" and "Duane Freeman" as recipients of the various post office boxes he used in the area. He uses the fictitious names "Dajour Cox" and "Duane Freeman" as recipients of the various post office boxes he uses in the region.
Dark Web Markets and Cryptocurrencies
Due to the censorship resistance of cryptocurrencies, they are often associated with dark web crime cases.
In August 2021, Maryland's "Xanaxman" dark web drug dealer Ryan Farace was found to be continuing to trade from prison following the alleged confiscation of 4,000 bitcoins in November 2018.
Three days before Christmas last year, Khuran Iqbal was sentenced to prison for trading cryptocurrencies on the dark web, and in 2014 he was sentenced to prison for distributing terrorist publications and possessing terrorist information.