UK teen paid Bitcoin for ecstasy on dark web; faces 2 years in prison

UK resident from Nuneaton has been charged for importing illegal drugs bought with Bitcoin; he will now serve a two-year prison sentence. Authorities alleged that the resident named Dylan Bailey, who is 19 years old, used the dark web to purchase ecstasy and paid Bitcoin for the illegal tablets. 

A supplier in the Netherlands sent the drugs to the UK teenager, who apparently concealed 83 ecstasy tablets in a DVD case, with Dylan Bailey’s name and address on it.

The supplier sent the package by post, but the parcel was discovered by the logistics team at the Royal Mail. At the same time, local police found evidence of the deal in the form of text messages on Bailey’s phone. The messages also revealed that Bailey had made drug deals in the past.

Police investigations revealed that Bailey had been advertising and offering the illicit drug to people, stating that they would buy “high-strength Super Mario pills.” Some clients were even ready to pay up to £50 per tablet.

Bailey’s alleged Bitcoin payment on the dark web to buy illicit drugs may not be an isolated incident. According to Chainalysis’ report, darknet markets that offer illegal substances such as drugs received a total of $1.7 billion in cryptocurrency, last year. 

In this report, UK ranked fifth in regard to the total value sent to or received from darknet markets, last year. UK residents sent $33 million worth of crypto to darknet markets and received $22 million. Meanwhile, US ranked second as the total value people in US sent to, or received from darknet markets is $179 million.