Netherlands Dark Web Dealer sentenced to 4 years in prison for drug dealing and money laundering – The Oost-Brabant District Court sentenced a 35-year-old man from Eindhoven to a prison sentence of 4 years. He spent years dealing with drug trafficking from his home. He then laundered the money using different methods.
The police found large quantities of soft and hard drugs in the suspect’s home last March. Moreover, evidence was found that he was also guilty of trading those drugs. Between August 2014 and March 2019, the man closed drug deals via the Dark Web, packed the drugs, and then sent them all over the world as postal packages. He got paid in bitcoins. He converted part of the bitcoins into book-entry money and transferred it to his bank account and to an account of a so-called cat catcher. He withdrew part of the amounts deposited and spent it on, among other things, fixed charges and groceries.
The public prosecutor also sued the man for forging / owning 646 bills of 100 euros found in his home. But according to the court there is no evidence that the suspect knew that it was fake notes.
According to the court, a 4-year prison sentence is appropriate. In determining that sentence, the court takes into account that drugs harm users’ health. In addition, drug users often engage in theft or other criminal behavior to pay for their use. This leads to damage and nuisance. The production of and trade in drugs are also regularly accompanied by various forms of serious crime.
Furthermore, money laundering can lead to disruption of economic and financial traffic. Mixing illegal money with legal money flows seriously damages the integrity of the financial and economic system. Finally, the court takes into account that the suspect has previously been convicted of a drug offense, but that this apparently did not prevent him from going back into the wrong again.