Prosecutor Dawn N. Ison said that in March, 31-year-old Victor Hernandez pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and other narcotic substances, as well as to sell firearms for bitcoins through darknet sites.
Using the pseudonym opiateconnect, Hernandez sold in the United States a psychotropic drug used to treat panic disorders, but in fact the pills were fake — they were chemicals not intended for human consumption.
Federal investigators have been working for months to identify Hernandez. During a search of his home, the police discovered an underground drug laboratory capable of producing more than 20,000 pills per hour. Three firearms, 600 grams of cocaine, thousands of pressed counterfeit pills, $340,000 in cash and more than $1 million in cryptocurrency were also confiscated.
In addition to the prison sentence, District Judge Linda V. Parker ordered Hernandez to pay a fine of $3.1 million. Hernandez's sister, Carolyn Hernandez-Taylor, also pleaded guilty in the case and was sentenced to 60 months in prison.
"The defendants tried to maintain their anonymity using the darknet, but this did not prevent investigators and the federal government from identifying the perpetrators. We will continue to prosecute drug traffickers using the latest technology," Prosecutor Ayson said.
Recently, a resident of California also confessed to drug trafficking through the ToRReZ and Dark0de darknet sites, as well as money laundering through cryptomixers. She faces life in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.