BOSTON – A highly sophisticated Dark Web drug trafficking operation was brought to a close yesterday as its leader and organizer was sentenced in federal court in Boston.
Binh Thanh Le, 25, of Brockton, was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to eight years in prison and three years of supervised release. Le was also ordered to forfeit more than 59 Bitcoin (currently worth in excess of $2 million), $114,680 in cash, $42,390 representing the proceeds from the sale of a 2018 BMW M3, along with other items including a pill press and currency counter.
This sentence marks the first judicial forfeiture of cryptocurrency in the District of Massachusetts.
According to court records, Le received wholesale quantities of controlled substances in the mail from various international sources. Le and, allegedly, his co-conspirators then processed and manufactured those controlled substances at an office space Le rented in Stoughton. To distribute the drugs, Le created and operated a vendor site called “EastSideHigh” in markets on the Dark Network.
“The Dark Web is a rising threat to our communities and must be taken very seriously. Anonymous networks open the door for people, including our children, to order deadly amounts of illegal narcotics from anywhere in the world and have them delivered to their doorsteps. Le took advantage of this – at only 22-years-old, he used the Dark Web to organize a complex drug distribution operation that reached a nationwide customer base and an international network of suppliers,” said United States Attorney Rachael S. Rollins.
“When the U.S. Mail system is unwittingly used to transport illegal narcotics it is taken very seriously,” said Inspector in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Boston Division. “The sentence imposed today on Binh Thanh Le should give fair warning that Postal Inspectors will identify and seek prosecution of those individuals involved in dark web illegal commerce.
Le was indicted in June 2019 along with co-conspirators Steven McCall and Allante Pires. This was a very long and complex investigation that involved a lot of help and assistance from multiple agencies including the United States Postal Service, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Stoughton Police and the Massachusetts State Police assigned to the Norfolk District Attorney’s Office.
“Hundreds of hours of investigative work shut down a significant drug operation that was supplying club drugs through sales on the dark web. This is a great example of law enforcement partners working together to keep people safe,” said Norfolk County District Attorney Michael W. Morrissey.
Le pleaded guilty on September 29, 2021, to conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy, Ketamine and Alprazolam (Xanax).
Binh Thanh Le, a 25-year-old man from Brockton, Massachusetts, has been sentenced to 8 years in prison and ordered to forfeit more than 59 Bitcoin, worth over $2 million, for leading a Dark Web drug trafficking operation.
Related Federal Cases
- Cedric Cromwell, Major Drug Trafficking, Massachusetts, 2020 · Massachusetts
- Peter Igwacho, Federal Drug Trafficking, Oregon, 2022 · Massachusetts
- Dimitrius Nicholai Pryce, Drug Trafficking, Oregon, 2022 · Massachusetts
- Edwin Hamel, Synthetic Drug Trafficking, ME 2023 · Texas
- Elmostafa Charif, Designer Drug Trafficking, New Jersey 2024 · Massachusetts
Key Facts
- State: Massachusetts
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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