Joanna De Alba of Tijuana, Mexico, has been arraigned in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, for the illegal sale and disbursement of narcotics, according to a Department of Justice (DOJ) press release Thursday.
A U.S. citizen has been indicted for selling drugs on the dark web in exchange for bitcoin.
“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 DOJ Attorney Richard P. Donoghue. “A bright light has been shined on her activities, and she will now be held to account for her charged criminal acts.”
Under the pseudonym “RaptureReloaded”, De Alba allegedly sold narcotics on the dark web marketplace Wall Street Market from June 2018 to May 2019. Customers used encrypted email and bitcoin to purchase drugs from De Alba, who marketed various levels of anonymity for packages sent to the U.S. – such as “Basic Stealth”, “Better Stealth” and “Super Stealth 360”, according to the DOJ.
In a January 2019, an undercover Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) agent successfully purchased some 40 grams of narcotics from De Alba, receiving a package in Queens, New York, for around $2,000 in bitcoin.
The DEA also intercepted five international packages from the Netherlands and Canada containing narcotics addressed to De Alba’s deceased husband in Southern California. The DOJ alleges De Alba had employed her partner’s identify and credit cards to process transactions since his death in March 2018.
“Anonymity is what drug dealers rely on in the dark web, but this case proves it’s a false security”, said DEA Special Agent-in-Charge Ray Donovan. “Law enforcement is committed to tracking down drug traffickers’ distribution networks everywhere.”
If convicted of all counts, De Alba faces between five and 100 years in prison.
Bitcoin News Summary – September 2, 2019
The trial between the self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin, Craig Wright, and the family of his former partner, Dave Kleiman, was concluded this week. The judge found that Wright lied in his testimony and falsified evidence. The judge further ordered Wright to transfer 410,000 bitcoins thought to be mined by Satoshi, to Kleiman’s estate. It is highly unlikely that Wright will be able to comply with this order.
Binance, one of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, has launched a lending business. Initially, users will be able to lend their U.S. dollar-pegged USDT, ethereum classic (ETC) and Binance’s BNB cryptocurrency in order to earn interest.
Portugal’s tax agency published its latest ruling which states that crypto trading and income are exempt from taxation. The Tax Authority revealed the news in response to a question coming from a company interested in mining cryptocurrency. This move is likely to attract crypto users and companies to Portugal.
Canadian e-commerce giant, Shopify, which provides its payment platform to over 800,000 businesses across the globe, has adopted Lightning Network payments. Shopify is using a software plug-in developed by OpenNode to process Lightning payments.
Cielo, which provides credit card services and nearly one and a half million point-of-sale terminals across Brazil, announced that it is integrating Bitcoin transfers into its terminals. In October, the company plans to also accept crypto payments via its new mobile app.
coindesk.com
