NEW YORK (QDAO) – Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr., announced the indictment of Nan Wu, 35, and four accomplices for operating a dark web marketplace that shipped more than 10,000 packages of cocaine, MDMA, Ketamine and other substances to customers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. As alleged, Wu; Peng Peng Tang, 30; Bowen Chen, 38; and Zixiang Lin, 22; together operated the dark web vendor “FireBunnyUSA,” and laundered $7.2 million, including over $3.1 million in proceeds, through cryptocurrency exchanges. They were assisted by Katie Montgomery, a United States Postal Service employee, who provided advice about importing drugs into the United States and checked on the status of packages.
Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
“This alleged scheme was a brazen attempt to use the dark web to conceal a national drug trafficking operation. Even though this activity originated on the dark web, it can still lead to the same dangerous drug-related violence in our neighborhoods that we see far too often,” said District Attorney Bragg. “Technology is evolving but so is our office and I am grateful to the talented prosecutors, investigators and analysts who are diligently working on and bringing their leading expertise to this complex case. No matter where illegal drug trafficking and selling originates, we will use every tool at our disposal to dismantle these operations and keep our streets safe.”
According to court documents and statements made on the record, FireBunny operated from January 2019 to August 2022. It operated on multiple dark web marketplaces and described itself as an “old vendor with the best in QUALITY SPEED OF DELIVERY and STEALTH.”
Wu originally based operations in Flushing, Queens, where more than 10,000 packages were shipped. Shipments went across the country and into Manhattan. Between June 2021 and August 2022, undercover Manhattan D.A. investigators made 11 purchases from FireBunny, including for cocaine, MDMA and Ketamine, which were shipped to Manhattan.
The largest undercover purchase was 60 grams of cocaine for approximately $2,800 in August 2022.
Lin helped to ship the packages by purchasing shipping materials and renting U-Hauls and storage facilities.
Wu moved some of his operations to Upland, California, in April 2022, before temporarily returning to Flushing in July 2022. Tang assisted Wu with travelling back and forth across the country by helping him rent homes and office space and coordinating financial transactions. Wu used various aliases to travel from coast-to-coast.
Investigators executed a search warrant on Wu and Tang’s Flushing apartment in July 2022. Wu was arrested and taken into federal custody on an open warrant for prior drug charges. Investigators also recovered 1 kilogram of Ketamine, more than 1,200 MDMA pills and other drugs and packaging supplies.
Phones recovered from Wu and Tang contained extensive evidence of Wu’s operation, including communications with suppliers concerning the importation of Ketamine and MDMA, and communications with customers on the encrypted messaging applications Wickr and Telegram.
Investigators also found communications with Montgomery, under the moniker “jherigarcya,” who used her access as a USPS employee to advise WU on how best to import Ketamine and MDMA. Montgomery also agreed to lookup packages for him to see if they are “flagged.”
After the July 2022 search warrant, FireBunny temporarily suspended operations. Eventually, CHEN continued WU’s work in California, until a search warrant was executed at his residence in August 2022.
In total, Wu and Tang received nearly $8 million in Bitcoin proceeds. Investigators also found nearly $900,00 worth of cryptocurrency on Tang’s phone. Some of the money WU and others received was laundered by converting Monero – a form of anonymized cryptocurrency that is extremely difficult to trace or monitor – into Bitcoin. The Bitcoin would then enter cryptocurrency exchange accounts controlled by Wu, Tang, and others.
Of the laundered money, over $734,000 was converted into U.S. dollars and laundered through U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange accounts, including accounts held by WU and Tang. At least $2.4 million in Bitcoin was sent to a foreign based cryptocurrency exchange and laundered in the form of Chinese Yuan.
Defendant Information:
NAN WU
Flushing, New York
Charged:
Operating as a Major Trafficker, a class A-I felony, one count
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a class A-II felony, four counts
Money Laundering in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony, one count
Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a class A-II felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fourth Degree, a class C felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree, a class D felony, five counts
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree, a class D felony, one count
PENG PENG TANG
San Gabriel, California
Charged:
Money Laundering in the First Degree, a class B felony, one count
Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Second Degree, a class A-II felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fourth Degree, a class C felony, one count
Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree, a class D felony, five counts
BOWEN CHEN
Baldwin Park, California
Charged:
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree, a class A-I felony, one count
Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree, a class B felony, four counts
ZIXIANG LIN
Flushing, New York
Charged:
Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
KATIE MONTGOMERY
South Portland, Maine
Charged:
Conspiracy in the Second Degree, a class B felony, one count
The post Dark Web Drug Peddlers Busted, Raked In $7.2M In Crypto Exchanges appeared first on Breaking911.