Darknet Amphetamine Buyer Busted After Lack of Postage on a 250g Amphetamine Package

An all-too-familiar incident occurred in late January where the shortage of postage resulted in an investigation and subsequent arrest. A 31-year-old man from Geretsried, Germany, lacked 95 cents worth of postage on a package of amphetamines. In a fashion so commonly seen in the last few arrests, especially in this area, the package’s return address belonged to a local business. The business alerted the police who then began investigating the man.

The Wolfratshauser District Court sentenced the defendant in late January to probation, despite the prosecutor’s wishes for prison time. The judge showed mercy to the 31-year-old who already broke the law on several occasions. Police reported that the defendant violated narcotics laws in the past; caused grievous bodily harm; and incitement to the public. Currently, officials said, the defendant is working off 80 hours of community service from a previous crime. The judge, given the circumstances surrounding the defendant’s latest crime, told him that this sentence served as a reality check; he used every drop of luck and this was the final stop before prison.

The 31-year-old mechanic explained that he used the drug, amphetamine, on a daily basis. Usually three to five grams, he explained, “At that time [his 2015 arrest], it was almost impossible to start the day without amphetamines,” he told the court. He started using amphetamine before he knew of the darknet, he continued. An acquaintance introduced him to bitcoin and the darknet.

On the darknet, vendors sold amphetamine in bulk. He ordered significant quantities of the drug and became more attached to the way it allowed him to function. This helped at work; rapidly and made more money as result. He needed that extra money to feed his growing addiction.

The addiction culminated in August 2015 when the 31-year-old ordered two packages from the darknet marketplace of his choice. The packages contained 250 grams of amphetamine, each. The defendant provided the vendor with the address of a local business to avoid suspicion. Police intercepted both 250-gram packages and started investigating the man.

Investigators watched the 31-year-old travel to Munich where he met with a Bitcoin exchanger. The contact in Munich traded physical currency for Bitcoin, the prosecutor said. Then, after obtaining Bitcoin, the accused went on to make his routine amphetamine purchase on the darknet. In late 2016, after they gained enough evidence for a warrant, police raided the man’s apartment.

Since then, the 31-year-old said that he became drug-free without the help of a rehabilitation program. He admitted he occasionally slipped up and made mistakes: “Now, I might smoke one or two joints every two weeks,” he said. But other than the occasional marijuana use, he claimed that he beat the amphetamine addiction. The court prosecutor argued that the defendant could not beat such a drug problem without outside help and he therefore lied in his testimony. She demanded a five-year prison sentence.

The judge disagreed. ”That he had admitted to smoking Joints, showed how open he was,” she said. She sentenced him to five years on probation and two years of a special drug program.