Selling drugs on the dark web scored a Los Angeles cybercriminal a cool $1.3 million in cryptocurrency – and a not-so-cool decade behind bars after the feds busted him.
Gabriel Alva, 32, of Winnetka, San Fernando Valley, was handed the sentence by a California federal court on February 13th after being found guilty of conspiring to distribute heroin, cocaine, and methamphetamine over the dark web, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of his crimes.
Alva and his accomplices used the Silk Road, Dream, and Nightmare forums to illegally sell narcotics, respectively operating under the pseudonyms Diablow, RaiseAppeals, and RaisedByDiablow, said the US Department of Justice.
His dark web vendor pages offered crystal meth, heroin, cocaine, and other drugs for sale, taking payment in cryptocurrency. All in all, he is reckoned to have converted some $1.3 million worth of various digital currencies into cash during his illicit career.
However, Alva’s online criminal spree came to an abrupt end in 2019 after federal agents raided his home and seized some 2kg each of heroin and cocaine, along with 24kg of methamphetamine.
During the swoop, the feds also took possession of half a dozen firearms, including a Remington shotgun, a Smith & Wesson assault rifle, and an unserialized AR-15 assault rifle, complete with silencer, scope, and magazines of ammunition.
Your email address will not be published. Required fields are markedmarked