Federal authorities say they have arrested and charged one of the largest dealers of illicit drugs on the dark web who was nabbed while on his way to a beard-growing competition, it was reported on Friday.
Gal Vallerius, 38, is a French national who is considered one of the most notorious internet drug kingpins, according to US attorneys.
Numerous federal agencies have been working for months to try and decipher the identity of OxyMonster, the alias used by an ‘administrator’ of the Dream Market web site, according to the Miami Herald.
Dream Market is a ‘dark web’ marketplace similar to eBay whereby anonymous users buy and sell illicit items such as prescription drugs, narcotics, personal information, Bitcoin virtual currency, and other contraband.
Gal Vallerius, 38, is a French national who is considered one of the most notorious internet drug kingpins, according to US attorneys
Numerous federal agencies have been working for months to try and decipher the identity of OxyMonster, the alias used by an ‘administrator’ of the Dream Market web site. The government alleges that Vallerius is OxyMonster
Federal agents intercepted Vallerius as he flew from his home in France to the United States
The federal government alleges that Vallerius is behind the OxyMonster screen name.
Federal agents intercepted Vallerius as he flew from his home in France to the United States.
He was traveling to Austin, Texas, where he was set to take part in a world beard-growing championships.
On August 31, he landed in Atlanta, where agents detained him and placed him in custody.
‘A border search of his laptop upon his arrival at Atlanta International Airport confirmed his identity as “OxyMonster”,’ according to the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Federal agents said that a search of Vallerius’ laptop showed that he used the Tor browser.
Unlike the convention web browsers like Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Mozilla Firefox, Tor allows internet users to remain anonymous while blocking sites that they visit from learning their physical location.
Investigators also said that they found log-in information for Dream Market on Vallerius’ computer.
Dream Market is a ‘dark web’ marketplace similar to eBay whereby anonymous users buy and sell illicit items such as prescription drugs, narcotics, personal information, Bitcoin virtual currency, and other contraband
‘The Dream Market web site is specifically designed to facilitate illegal commerce by working to ensure the anonymity of its administrators, as well as the buyers and sellers who participate in commerce on the web site,’ the DEA said.
The government said that by the end of August, a visitor to Dream Market could browse through over 94,000 listings that included a range of substances including opioids, ecstasy, and steroids.
Vallerius used his OxyMonster alias to allegedly ship drugs and other products to customers in Europe and the United States.
Investigators also said that they found $500,000 worth of Bitcoin on Vallerius’ hard drive.
Authorities’ big break in the case came when they were able to trace OxyMonster’s Bitcoin transactions to a web site used by Vallerius.
Agents also compared Vallerius’ social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram and compared his writing style to that of OxyMonster on Dream Market.
‘Agents discovered many similarities in the use of words and punctuation, including: the word “cheers,” double exclamation marks, frequent use of quotation marks, and intermittent French posts,’ according to the DEA.
He was traveling to Austin, Texas, where he was set to take part in a world beard-growing championships
Authorities are expected to transfer Vallerius from Atlanta to Miami, where he faces an indictment for conspiracy that could result in a life imprisonment sentence.
The federal government has devoted considerable resources in their hunt for Vallerius.
The investigation was a joint effort waged by a number of agencies, including the DEA, the FBI, the IRS, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Postal Inspection Service.