Grand jury indicts man for online fentanyl sale

A suburban Philadelphia man who called himself “NarcoBoss,” accused of selling fentanyl imported from China in bulk to customers nationwide on the dark web, has been indicted in Pittsburgh following an undercover operation.

Henry Koffie, who used Mexican drug kingpin Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman as his profile picture online, was arrested last month at his home in Darby, Delaware County, and had been ordered detained in Oregon.

Authorities say he is responsible for two overdose deaths in Portland, Ore., and may have other victims in Florida, Michigan and other states.

An FBI affidavit indicates that agents here had made undercover purchases from Mr. Koffie in May on the dark web site known as Alpha Bay, where he was a vendor, and had the fentanyl shipped to a Pittsburgh-area address.

A federal grand jury in Pittsburgh handed up an indictment Tuesday, charging him with distribution of fentanyl.

The U.S. attorney’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The FBI and U.S. postal inspectors said Mr. Koffie, who was mentioned in a June New York Times story about online narcotics dealing on the dark web, advertised his product on Alpha Bay and then shipped to his customers around the country using the U.S. mail.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, who also was investigating Mr. Koffie’s operation, had previously identified him as one of its top priorities.