Binh Thanh Le, Dark Web Ecstasy Trafficking, Massachusetts 2024

BOSTON – In a shocking case of cybercrime, 25-year-old Binh Thanh Le, a resident of Brockton, Massachusetts, pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiring to manufacture and distribute controlled substances through the Dark Web.

Le was charged with conspiracy to manufacture, distribute and possess with intent to distribute 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy, Ketamine and Alprazolam (Xanax). U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel scheduled sentencing for Jan. 19, 2022.

According to court records, Le received wholesale quantities of controlled substances in the mail. He and his co-conspirators, including Steven McCall and Allante Pires, 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” on Dark Net Market websites, where various drugs for sale, including cocaine, MDMA, Ketamine and Xanax, were advertised.

During the investigation, an undercover agent ordered MDMA from one of the “EastSideHigh” vendor sites on a Dark Net Marketplace, and later observed Le deposit the envelope containing the order into a U.S. Postal Service collection box in Stoughton. Numerous other envelopes containing MDMA and Ketamine, which are connected to this drug distribution scheme, were intercepted.

On March 27, 2019, Le met with undercover law enforcement officers at a hotel in Norwood to exchange $200,000 worth of Bitcoin for cash. Le was arrested after he transferred the bitcoin to the agents. More than 18 kilograms of MDMA, almost seven kilograms of Ketamine, more than $200,000 worth of Bitcoin and more than $100,000 in cash were seized by authorities. Investigators also recovered from the office space in Stoughton a computer with the “EastSideHigh” vendor page open, numerous packages containing MDMA and Ketamine, various shipping and packaging materials and a pill press.

McCall and Pires have pleaded not guilty and are considered innocent until proven guilty. The investigation was a collaborative effort between the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Massachusetts State Police, Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Norfolk County District Attorney’s Office.

The details contained in the charging documents are allegations. The remaining defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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