Man accused of using darknet and bitcoin to sell illegal narcotics

A Denverarea man allegedly advertised illegal drugs on the darknet, consummated deals with bitcoin and used unwitting mail carriers to transport packages of cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin across the country, court records say.

The business was thriving until the man allegedly picked up a few unwanted customers: Drug Enforcement Administration agents.

On Thursday, he was arraigned on federal drug dealing and crime conspiracy charges in Denver U.S. District Court. The operation sold drugs throughout the U.S., the court records say.

The case was broken open by unidentified undercover law enforcement officers and netted several alleged coconspirators.

On Oct. 25, 2017, an undercover officer ordered 3 grams of heroin and 50 clonazepam pills and paid for them with bitcoin. The drugs were delivered to an “undercover” address, court records show. It was the beginning of a fullfledged investigation lasting several months.

Law enforcement officers from Denver and Jefferson counties intercepted several packages sent through the postal system containing cocaine, LSD, heroin and methamphetamine.

In April, an alleged coconspirator allegedly wrote on the computer network that users looking “for good acid” should contact the suspect’s darknet account, court records say. A second undercover agent allegedly ordered 30 tabs of LSD — acid — through the darknet account, authorities say.

On April 19, law enforcement served a search warrant on a Lakewood apartment the man shared with an alleged coconspirator.

Authorities allegedly discovered an AR15 behind a couch with a loaded magazine, 9.3 grams of LSD in a black chest, a paper with the suspect’s darknet account number and another piece of paper that had his login and password for a cryptocurrency wallet.