Using bitcoin exchanges to earn $7.2 million, one of the biggest dark web drug distribution rings ever was shut down, and its Queens ringleader and three other people have been accused, according to Manhattan prosecutors. Prosecutors claimed in an indictment unsealed on Friday in Manhattan Supreme Court that Queens resident Nan Wu, the ring’s leader, and his associates, one of whom worked for the Postal Service, operated a dark web marketplace called “FireBunnyUSA” that sent more than 10,000 packages of drugs to customers in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C.
Using bitcoin exchanges, the narcotics dealers reportedly laundered $7.2 million, including over $3.1 million in revenue.
Companions Peng Peng Tang, Bowen Chen, Zixian Lin, and U.S. Postal Services employee Katie Montgomery were included in the indictment along with Wu.
This purported plot was a bold effort to hide a large-scale drug trafficking enterprise via the dark web. Despite the fact that this activity began on the dark web, it may still result in the terrible drug-related violence that we all too often see in our streets, according to District Attorney Alvin Bragg.
From January 2019 through August 2022, FireBunny operated from a number of dark web markets, describing itself as a “old seller with the greatest in QUALITY SPEED OF DELIVERY and STEALTH.”
More than 10,000 parcels were delivered out of Flushing, where Wu, 35, initially established operations. He relocated his business to Upland, California, in April 2022.
Shipments traveled across the nation and arrived in Manhattan.
Prosecutors said that between June 2021 and August 2022, undercover Manhattan D.A. detectives purchased 11 items from FireBunny that were transported to Manhattan, including cocaine, MDMA, and ketamine.
According to the prosecution, Wu’s crew purchased shipping supplies, rented U-Hauls, and used storage facilities to assist with the delivery of the shipments.
In July 2022, when Wu was detained by federal authorities on an outstanding warrant for alleged narcotics offenses, investigators carried out a search of his Flushing flat, according to the prosecution.
The organization received approximately $8 million in Bitcoin earnings in total. On TANG’s phone, investigators also discovered roughly $900,00 worth of cryptocurrencies.
Wu and other recipients of money had some of it converted into Monero, a kind of anonymous cryptocurrency.
During her arraignment on Friday morning, Montgomery, a resident of Maine who turned herself in to police and was accused of giving advise about bringing narcotics into the US and monitoring parcels, entered a not guilty plea and was freed.
The arraignment for Tang, Chen, and Lin was scheduled for Friday afternoon. Wu won’t be charged until an undisclosed future time.
»Arrested dark web drug criminals made $7.2 million trading cryptocurrency«
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