Two Netherlanders have been arrested for selling drugs on the darkweb — they said they were forced to do so because of debts in the underworld

February 1, 2019February 1, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

Thursday 31st of January 2018 saw the first trial hearing for two men, 32-year-old Guillermo F. and 50-year-old Boy De W., accused of selling hard narcotics on the now-defunct darkweb Hansa Market since 2016. They are represented by defense attornies Nancy Dekens and her colleague Maarten Pijnenburg.

The two men were arrested in Amsterdam in March 2018. More so, other two accomplices were also apprehended in the same month in Werkendam, southern Netherlands: 48-year-old Michael O. and a 36-year-old woman found hiding in a shed.

Michael O. had four 3D printers in his warehouse near his home which were used to packaging LSD, MDMA, and cocaine. The narcotics were then hidden in multiple objects such as Nintendo games or ink cartridges, and sent via postal service. Also on Thursday, the court decided to release Michael O. under parole because of his confession and minimal role in the organization.

As for Guillermo F. and Boy De W., the trial has just begun. Thursday’s hearing session was an introductory sitting in a case that will be dealt with in substance in May 2019.

According to the defense lawyers, the usurer men who were threatening the group were two individuals of Israeli origin. They had lent a large amount of money to F. and De W. to set up a streaming service which failed. To repay their debt, the men were offered positions as darknet drug dealers.

Guillermo F. made his confession more than a week ago. The Boy De W. did it a day before, on Wednesday. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) are accusing them of international drug trafficking. The Prosecution has found a digital administration containing thousands of names and addresses of darknet drug buyers at home and abroad. The two defendants deny having been involved in the sale of the narcotics since 2016. They state that they have only sold drugs since mid-2017.

Furthermore, the fact that they were forced into selling drugs might act as a mitigating factor which can lower their prison terms. More so, if they are found guilty of drug trafficking without other aggravating circumstances, the duo might be facing from one to three years of incarceration. It’s unlikely that they’ll receive a suspended sentence because almost all types of powder-like drugs are deemed public health hazard by European Criminal Law.

Court of Breda District

VIDEO SOURCE: https://www.nu.nl/262176/video/politie-vindt-drugs-verstopt-in-make-up-en-games.html

SOURCE: https://www.politie.nl/nieuws/2018/maart/16/webshops-van-online-drugshandelaren-hansa-market-definitief-gesloten.html

https://www.nu.nl/tech/5715798/verdachten-schulden-dwongen-ons-drugs-te-verkopen-via-darkweb.html?redirect=1

RESOURCE: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/system/files/publications/3573/Trafficking-penalties.pdf

A 26-year-old German man was sentenced to four years and ten months for selling darkweb cocaine and amphetamine on the streets of Überlingen and Singen

January 31, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

The 26-year-old man from Lake Constance district supplied at least two customers from the Überlingen and the Singen with large quantities of darknet amphetamine and cocaine. He ordered the drugs on the deep web and sold them for profits to sustain his lifestyle and own addiction. He has been ordered to concede the sum of €35,150 resulted from drug sales and attend rehabilitation as his level of addiction was described by the prosecutors as “heavily dependent.” He has already spent five months in custody before hearing the final sentence.

During his first period of withdrawal, he felt very bad: “I thought I was dying,” he said.

The accused confessed everything in the District Court of Konstanz (photo). He used to both re-send the ordered packages and deliver in-person for profits. In one instance, the man sold drugs to a client in a supermarket car park in Aach. Other times he’d mail them through the post office. Buying mainly from the now-defunct AlphaBay darknet platform.

Thanks to intelligence from their colleagues in Ulm and Dortmund, The Kriminalpolizeidirektion of Friedrichshafen investigated and arrested the dealer in the summer of 2018. Investigators found 22 en-gross darknet drug orders to his name of which two were intended for personal consumption.

The defendant, visibly emotional, confessed in court how it all started years ago when he first drank alcohol on the high-school bus during a trip. He even tried marijuana. However, since then, nothing was off-limits, not even pain-killers. Eventually getting extremely addicted to cocaine.

Unlike other recent and similar cases reported on our website, the man did not qualify for the 24-year-old limit Criminal Juvenile Act and received the full sentence provided by the German Penal Code. Drug trafficking carries up to five years’ imprisonment. However, he received no aggravating accusations due to his confession.

SOURCE: https://www.schwaebische.de/landkreis/bodenseekreis/markdorf_artikel,-kokain-aus-darknet-bestellt-und-verkauft-_arid,11000900.html

RESOURCE: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/drug-reports/2018/germany/drug-laws-and-drug-law-offences_en

German police arrested a 42-year-old man trying to buy a Glock 17 and brass knuckles — he was threatening to kill a dozen Syrian immigrants

January 29, 2019January 29, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

On Monday, 28th of January 2019, the trial started against 42-year-old Matthias E. (photo). The man, father of two and recently separated, tried to purchase a Glock 17 and brass knuckles to avenge the death of his wife raped by twelve Syrian immigrants: a fake story, nonetheless, which puts into question the sanity of the accused.

In May 2018, investigators from the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany were informed by Australian law enforcement that a German man wanted to buy a firearm weapon with a silencer and 100 rounds of ammunition via darkweb. The Criminal Police Office (BKA) quickly red-coded the case and started tracking the man:

“We put code red on the case. We could not rule out that we have a potential gunman in front of us.”

Soon enough, on 19th of June 2018, the German police set up a meeting in Sachsenpark parking lot north of Leipzig. The man handed €2300 to the undercover agent, took the pistol, and then both got arrested by ready policemen in flagrant.For the prosecutors, who deal with tens of such cases each year, it was rather unusual for a suspect to write his motivations so quickly and detailed. Almost from the beginning, Matthias E. sent multiple e-mails to the undercover agents explaining how his wife committed suicide after being gang-raped by a dozen Syrian immigrant, and how he seeks revenge.

Surprisingly, the story was completely fake, denounced by both his 41-year-old ex-wife and a 38-year-old ex-girlfriend. The latter had recently moved out along with her two kids from his residence. Both women describe the man as being authoritarian and full of negativism.

His ex-girlfriend decalred: “He was very bitter. In his eyes, the whole world was bad.” Words confirmed by his ex-wife: “He was bossy and threatened me.”

Katrin Minkus, the representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office, argued that the accused would have used the weapon at least against close family members and that he’s a threat to public safety.

On the other hand, defense attorney Peter Hollstein claimed that Matthias was more a threat to himself than others and that he would’ve done “self-harm, never to third parties,” and that he was not “homicidal.”

The Saxon Attorney General’s Office had brought charges of unauthorized acquisition of a firearm and blunt weapon. Since then, Matthias E. has been in custody. He must spend the next three months in a psychiatric clinic for further evaluation, being suspected of suffering from a form of personality development disorder. Nevertheless, if the accused is found sane his risks a minimum of ten years in prison.

The trial will continue from 6th of February 2019, an LKA official announced.

SOURCE: http://www.lvz.de/Leipzig/Polizeiticker/Polizeiticker-Leipzig/Waffensuche-im-Darknet-Ermittler-schlossen-Amoklauf-nicht-aus

RESOURCE:
https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personality_development_disorder

Seven years in prison for a 37-year-old German man for selling over 30 kilograms of darkweb marijuana and hashish — busted by the mailman

January 28, 2019January 28, 2019 / Edy / 1 Comment

Today, Monday 28th of January 2018, a 37-year-old software developer from Geldern, Germany was sentenced by the Kleve district court (photo) to seven years in prison for gang-related drug trafficking. He and his cousins had sold 32 kilograms of marijuana via a darkweb platform.

Similar to another recent case, the postman was the one who alerted the police after getting suspicious of the increasing parcels being sent to the mailboxes in the Sonsbecker area. Police monitored the zone and spotted the 37-year-old. Officers took photos and bugged his car with a GPS tracking device. On 15th of March 2018, law enforcement raided the culprit’s house and found a drug depot in the basement. More precisely, 17 kilograms of hashish, 15 kilograms of marijuana, and packaging material of professional caliber.

A witness confirmed that the manner in which the suspect packages were assembled reminded him of those seized by the police.

The accused had declared that he had received no money for his cooperation and that he just wanted to help his cousins with his business. However, the court was not convinced at all.

“I’ve been too naive,” said the defendant on Monday. He strongly underestimated the legal consequences: “I thought: What can happen, even if it comes out?”

The defendant had no criminal record and was working as a full-time job as a software entrepreneur since March 2018. His business is now failing, and he’s expected to pay fines and concede illegality-obtained property.

“The early days in custody almost destroyed me. However, it was my decision. I want to take responsibility for it and finish this life crisis clean.”

His lawyer asked for a conviction for aiding and abetting, but the prosecutor’s office asked for eight years of imprisonment for gang-related trafficking. Belonging to a gang while selling narcotics is an accusation that counted as an aggravating factor in the case and added several years to the final sentence. Judge Jürgen Ruby declared:

“It was about making selling as much as possible and making money as fast as possible,” taking about the defendant’s operation.

Aerial view of Kleve district court in Germany

Although the accused only sold marijuana, which is considered by the German penal code as one of the least severe narcotics for public safety, the judge added the gang affiliation charge — indicating that the defendant used violence at some time to pursue his illegal drug trafficking business.

SOURCE: https://rp-online.de/nrw/staedte/geldern/sieben-jahre-haft-fuer-darknet-dealer-aus-geldern_aid-35956235

https://www.radiokw.de/kreis-wesel/lokalnachrichten/lokalnachrichten/archive/2019/01/28/article/-ca330ac7d2.html

RESOURCE: https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/englisch_stgb/englisch_stgb.html#p0072

The Madrid police captured 74 kilograms of DarkWeb crystal MDMA (ecstasy) in Vila-real, Castellón — four people were arrested in collaboration with German law enforcement

January 28, 2019 / Edy / Leave a comment

Agents of the Spanish National Police in collaboration with the German Police of Würzburg and Unterfranken have seized a total of 74 kilograms (photos) of MDMA crystals (ecstasy) in two adjacent operations and resulted in the arrest of three people in Spain and one in Germany.

The largest of the two drug caches, as reported on Sunday 27th of January 2019 by sources of the Spanish National Police, amounts to 69 kilograms and was introduced from central Europe to Spain via large trucks with fake cargo papers. The narcotics were stashed in Vila-real and sold in Madrid. Shortly after, police found the second drug cache of 5 kilograms in Madrid which was ready to be sold on the streets or through darknet market platforms.

Four people were arrested, one individual in Germany and three in Spain. Among them, there’s the leader of the organization as well as two of his lieutenants.

The investigation began in 2015 when Spanish law enforcement became aware of a drug trafficking organization dedicated to introducing MDMA into the country. After several search efforts, they located the transport route used to introduce the synthetic drug in Spain by trucks, hiding it among other commercial products with fake transport documents. The narcotics would arrive at Vila-real and moved to Madrid in different vehicles. More so, the criminal group was well organized and had an efficient continental communication infrastructure which slowed down the police inquiry.

The group is facing a minimum of ten years in prison and seizing of illegal revenue or propriety. Furthermore, if the court identifies aggravating circumstances such as selling to minors, firearms possession, or endangering public health, the penalties can go up to 21 years of incarceration.

MDMA or ecstasy is a substance from the family of amphetamines, considered relatively safe for human consumption in its purest form. However, the main problem with synthetic drugs, in general, stands in the chemical characterization of the particular narcotic tablet, crystal, dose, or larger lot of drugs. Forensics will have to analyze both the doses and method of trafficking to establish how much of a public safety hazard was the gang. They’ll come up with a purity and concentration rating of the captured darkweb ecstasy crystals for the court to decide the punishments.

SOURCE: http://www.elperiodicodeaqui.com/epda-noticias/incautados-74-kilos-de-la-droga-mdma-en-madrid-que-tenia-el-centro-de-recepcion-en-vila-real/174648

https://www.abc.es/espana/comunidad-valenciana/abci-intervienen-74-kilos-mdma-vendia-internet-oscura-moneda-virtual-201901271134_noticia.html

http://www.telemadrid.es/noticias/madrid/Policia-Nacional-interviene-MDMA-Madrid-0-2089591024–20190127110523.html

RESOURCE: http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/countries/drug-reports/2018/spain/drug-laws-and-drug-law-offences_en

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3931692/

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