Abudullah Almashwali, Heroin and Cocaine Trafficking, California 2023

A 31-year-old Yemeni national has been sentenced to six and a half years in prison for his role in a large-scale heroin and cocaine trafficking operation on the dark web marketplace AlphaBay.

Abudullah Almashwali, formerly residing in Brooklyn, New York, was sentenced in Fresno, California, for conspiracy to distribute and distribution of heroin and cocaine, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, Almashwali and co-defendant Chaudhry Ahmad Farooq, 24, a Pakistani national residing in Brooklyn, New York, were large-scale heroin and cocaine distributors on AlphaBay. They used the vendor names ‘Area51’ and ‘DarkApollo’ to sell their illicit wares.

The dark web marketplace AlphaBay was shut down last week, and its creator and administrator were arrested following an indictment filed in Fresno on June 1. The indictment charged racketeering and various narcotics, identity theft, and money laundering offenses.

Law enforcement authorities in the United States worked with numerous foreign partners to freeze and preserve millions of dollars’ worth of cryptocurrencies that were proceeds of the AlphaBay organization’s illegal activities. A related civil forfeiture complaint has also been filed against numerous high-value assets, including luxury vehicles, and real estate located throughout the world.

The sentencing in this case is timely, as it closely follows our seizure and shut down of the AlphaBay criminal marketplace, said U.S. Attorney Talbert. That case resulted in an indictment filed in our district, but involved significant coordination and assistance from our partners in the Criminal Division’s Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, as well as the FBI and DEA.

Those who conduct criminal activity on the dark web under the guise of anonymity are mistaken, and this sentence serves as a reminder, stated DEA Special Agent in Charge John J. Martin. Recently, the DEA Fresno Resident Office worked tirelessly with our law enforcement counterparts to shut down the largest criminal marketplace on the internet, and we have no intention of stopping there.

On January 17, 2017, Farooq pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and distribute heroin and cocaine.

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