Federal agents target darknet fueling crisis

WASHINGTON — His moniker was “DARKKING22,” and authorities say he offered a cornucopia of illicit drugs through the click of a mouse.

But it was his ads on a hidden website for pure fentanyl, the powerful painkiller driving a record number of overdose deaths across the U.S., that caught FBI agents’ attention. They bought some, and days later it arrived in a small, clear, plastic bag complete with a thank-you card, a sign of how easy it is to buy drugs on the so-called darknet.

The dealer did not stay anonymous for long. Federal authorities say “DARKKING22” was 28-year-old Antoin Austin, of Euclid, Ohio. His arrest last week is among the first by a new team of federal agents, computer experts and analysts tasked with fighting the kind of online opioid trafficking that law enforcement officials say can be more persistent and vexing than more traditional trafficking by cartels.

Buyers access stores through secret Web browsers and make purchases using encrypted channels, code names and virtual currency such as bitcoin.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions said darknet vendors are “pouring fuel on the fire of the national drug epidemic.” It’s part of the Trump administration’s tough approach to the drug crisis that has focused on harsh punishments for dealers. Critics say the overall strategy resembles a return to failed drug-war tactics and that the record $4.6 billion included in the spending plan the president signed last month is not nearly enough to establish the kind of treatment system needed to reverse the crisis.

But there’s bipartisan agreement that more resources and new restrictions are needed to stem the stream of opioids entering the U.S. from overseas, especially China, and into households through the U.S. mail.