Silk Road Vendor Handel Admits to Nationwide Drug Trafficking

BALTIMORE, MD – David Lawrence Handel, 26, of Columbus, Ohio, has admitted to peddling dangerous synthetic drugs across the country via the Silk Road, the notorious online black market. Handel pleaded guilty yesterday to drug trafficking charges, bringing an end – but likely not a complete one – to his reign as a digital dope dealer.

Federal investigators from a multi-agency Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) brought Handel down after a year-long probe. The investigation, spearheaded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, and IRS-Criminal Investigation, revealed Handel contacted buyers of methylone and other synthetic drugs through the Silk Road platform. He accepted payment electronically and shipped the illicit goods through the U.S. Postal Service to customers not just in Maryland, but nationwide and even internationally.

The feds started building their case in 2012, making several undercover purchases of methylone directly from Handel. He shipped the drugs to Maryland addresses. But the net truly began to close when U.S. Customs and Border Protection intercepted a package of synthetic drugs originating in China and addressed to Handel in Columbus, Ohio, on August 21, 2012. Handel picked up the package the following day, walking directly into the waiting arms of federal agents. He wasn’t empty-handed, either – a Glock firearm was strapped to his ankle, and another was found in his car.

A subsequent search of Handel’s apartment uncovered a veritable drug stash – over 600 grams of methylone – along with three more firearms. Handel quickly confessed, admitting to being a long-time drug trafficker on Silk Road. He detailed how he sourced the drugs from a supplier in China, had them shipped via U.S. mail, and spent a hefty $4,800 on his most recent shipment. This wasn’t some small-time operation; Handel was moving serious volume.

Handel now faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for conspiring to traffic drugs. But the weapons charges could add significant time. He’s looking at a minimum of five years and a maximum of life in prison for using and carrying a firearm in relation to his drug trafficking activities. Chief U.S. District Judge Catherine C. Blake has scheduled sentencing for May 15, 2015, at 12:00 p.m. This case highlights the continued reach of the dark web and the lengths criminals will go to profit from poison.

This isn’t an isolated incident. Just last September, Chief Judge Blake sentenced another Silk Road vendor, Jacob Theodore George IV, 33, of Edgewood, Maryland, to six years in prison for conspiracy to distribute and possess drugs, including heroin. U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein praised the collaborative efforts of the agencies involved and specifically thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Sandra Wilkinson for her work on the case. The war on Silk Road continues, but the flow of illicit goods rarely stops for long.