Darkweb Drug Trafficker Arrested in Operation DisrupTor Sentenced to 6.5 Years in Prison

A darkweb cocaine and heroin trafficker has been sentenced to 6 ½ years in federal prison for drug conspiracy, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas.

Aaron Brewer – a 39-year-old charged under Operation DisrupTor, a coordinated international effort to disrupt opioid trafficking on the Darknet – pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. He was sentenced Thursday to 78 months by Chief U.S. District Judge Barbara M.G. Lynn, who also ordered the defendant to forfeit $50,000 in drug proceeds.

According to plea papers, Mr. Brewer admitted he created darkweb market vendor accounts in order to sell cocaine, heroin, and other controlled substances online.

Mr. Brewer’s customers paid him in cryptocurrency, typically bitcoin, and frequently used aliases for shipping. After receiving payment, Mr. Brewer used the U.S. Mail and other shipping services to transmit controlled substances to customers in North Texas and across the country.

In March 2020, law enforcement discovered a ledger linking controlled substances orders with tracking numbers inside his apartment.

Mr. Brewer later admitted that over an 11-monthe period, he dealt more than 4,000 grams of cocaine and more than 80 grams of black tar heroin, then used the more than $50,000 in proceeds of the illegal activity to pay his mortgage.

The U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Dallas Field Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sid Mody is prosecuting the case.

Operation DisrupTor actions have resulted in the arrest of 179 Darknet drug traffickers and fraudulent criminals who engaged in tens of thousands of sales of illicit goods and services across the United States and Europe. The operation also resulted in the seizure of over $6.5 million; approximately 500 kilograms of drugs worldwide (including approximately 275 kilograms of drugs in the U.S.); and 63 firearms.