A US citizen has been indicted for selling heroin and methamphetamine on the Dark Web, the US Department of Justice announced yesterday. Joanna De Alba was arrested on October 24, and arraigned yesterday afternoon in a federal court in Brooklyn.
Attorney Richard Donoghue alleged that De Alba was a vendor on the “Wall Street Market” under the moniker “RaptureReloaded.” She took payment in bitcoin, and promised free delivery in the United States.
“As alleged, De Alba dispensed heroin and methamphetamine from the shadowy corners of the internet, believing that it provided anonymity to her and her customers,” said Attorney Donoghue.
De Alba was busted after an undercover DEA agent bought 30 grams of heroin from her for a total of $1,810, and 10 grams of methamphetamine, worth $160, on January 3, 2019. The agent paid in bitcoin, and received the package on January 14.
De Alba had been using the identity and credit cards of her husband, who died in March 2018. The police intercepted packages containing methamphetamine pills and fentanyl that were shipped from the Netherlands and Canada and addressed to De Alba’s late husband at an apartment in southern California.
Special Agent-in-Charge at the Drug Enforcement Administration Ray Donovan said, “Anonymity is what drug dealers rely on in the dark web, but this case proves it’s a false security. Law enforcement is committed to tracking down drug traffickers’ distribution networks everywhere.”
If convicted, De Alba faces a minimum of five years in prison, and a maximum sentence of up to a hundred years.