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Saturday, September 30, 2017

Dark Web drug dealer "Oxy Monster" tripped up by beard contest

Chivis Martinez for Borderland Beat Miami Herald

He's not Pablo Escobar, not by a long shot but...... authorities 
say Gal Vallerius is a modern version of a cartel kingpin

He operates anonymously as a lord of the internet's “dark web” bazaar where buyers and sellers conduct cocaine, fentanyl, meth, LSD and oxycodone deals in the virtual currency bitcoin. on left in photo)

Vallerius, 38, recently made the mistake of traveling from his base in France to Texas to compete in a world beard-growing championship in Austin. After arriving on Aug. 31 in Atlanta, the brown-bearded Vallerius was arrested by U.S. authorities on a distribution complaint filed in Miami federal court.

“A border search of his laptop upon his arrival at Atlanta International Airport confirmed his identity as ‘OxyMonster,’ ” according to a Drug Enforcement Administration affidavit. Vallerius’ laptop also contained the Tor browser, which allows users to conceal their true internet protocol addresses on that network; his log-in credential for Dream Market, an eBay-type marketplace for illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia; and $500,000 worth of bitcoin.

Vallerius chose not to contest his identity and detention at a court hearing in Atlanta. His defense attorney there could not be reached for comment. Vallerius is soon expected to be transferred to Miami to face a new conspiracy indictment that carries up to life in prison.

Tracking down Vallerius — the biggest of a half-dozen dark web targets charged over the past year in South Florida — was not easy. It involved the DEA, FBI, IRS, Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Vallerius played the secret role of an “administrator” and “moderator” on Dream Market, a dark web site that allows illicit drug sellers and buyers to make deals in Europe and the United States without revealing their true identities, according to federal prosecutor Francisco Maderal. The underground web site is not only a marketplace, it provides technical assistance, resolves disputes and posts reviews of vendors. And, like eBay, Dream Market charges a commission on every transaction as a percentage of the sales price.

“The Dream Market web site is specifically designed to facilitate illegal commerce by working to ensure the anonymity of its administrators, as well as the buyers and sellers who participate in commerce on the web site,” according to the DEA affidavit. It noted that at the end of August, there were more than 94,000 listings, including drugs such as opioids, ecstasy and steroids.

In January of this year, DEA agents logged into Dream Market’s home page and clicked a link called “Forum,” which allows sellers, buyers and administrators to discuss anything for sale on the dark web, according to the affidavit. While browsing the forum, agents navigated to a topic called “Official Staff” under the “Announcements” tab. The first posting was written by “OxyMonster,” Vallerius’ alias, though agents had not made that connection yet. Agents clicked on “OxyMonster” and were taken to his profile, which said he was a senior moderator.


This summer, agents also identified “OxyMonster” as a vendor on Dream Market who shipped from France to anywhere in Europe as well as to the United States, the affidavit said. Agents analyzed his posts on the Dream Market forum, including tips on how to stay anonymous on the dark web. In August, agents learned that “OxyMonster” was using a certain bitcoin address for the sales transactions. They soon analyzed incoming and outgoing transactions from that bitcoin address and discovered that most of them went to Vallerius on Localbitcoins.com.

We have added the U.S. complaint which describes the interworkings of his internet, Biotin, drug trafficking operation. 

31 comments:

  1. Guess crypto currency ain't so crypto.

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    1. Yes it is, do you know how many use that thing they call bitcoin for illegal activities and get away with it? 1 malevolent bitcoin equals the price of over 3oz of gold, hows that for your ain't so crypto, you big cheatso?

      Delete
    2. Fools gold, funds have disappeared from Bitcoin accounts,
      If you get cheated out of your money IN CASH, IN PERSON, with your shares in your hand, garrantee by the US government for the whole value they "retain" after bankruptcies, reorganizations and other BS, I doubt george soros or Warren Buffett or caos slim helu hold any bitcoins, the donal and co. may have some in Rubles, dinars, philipine or mexican peisos, Quetzalcoatls or bolivares, rupias, yuans, whatever, as long as it's offshored where the US government can't confiscate it, and tax free...

      Delete
  2. Such a frigging waste of time and money. I used to have some dealings with the DEA when I practiced law. Can you spell C-O-R-R-U-P-T? I knew you could.

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    1. Let the cat out of the sack and tell us more

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    2. 7:02 I wonder why you don't practice law anymore,
      You know if you are going to go corrupt you need to make it worth your while, like Roy Cohn, or Roger Stone who still wears a tattoo on his back of richard nixxon for whom he was the youngest Watergate convict at 19 years of age, he says they are not "gay", they just like to have sex with men, and they have been in very good company since the 1940s...with Joseph McCarty, persecuting the competition, blacks, mexicans and "left-o-comunistas"

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  3. The key word.. W-H-E-N.

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    1. 8:35 we live today like we live today because of yesterday,
      WHEN SHIT was happening that nobody believed and whatever shit they believed was wrong.

      Delete
  4. Dark net is still secure and a good way to go for this sort a stuff...IF PROPER OPSEC STEPS ARE FOLLOWED. Obviously this dude goofed up in buying/cashing in his BTC, allowing his dox to be linked to his wallet from what it appears. Definitely can't be trying to make money this way unless you're committed 100% and never let your guard down IRL and online, never get comfortable always follow proper opsec, and be prepared for a controlled delivery or similar at any time wit whatever consequences are possible.

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  5. 7:02 no waste here, the DEA will get all his customers, competitors and 500 000 bi5coin, worth about 8 dollars in real life and his client list and a course in Internet trades, while OXYmonster is about to get his pinchis barbas pulled from behind while he picks up the soap, the usual, por andar ahi de caliente...
    --Of course, russian ties will take years to clear, because the perps claim to be "sooo innocent" of the "fawx fake hoax" from the dishonest american news...

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  6. So now the DEA is mad that adults are minding their OWN business making safe deals that could end the street pushers? Why don't they arrest all the dealers in Dallas, Austin, Laredo, etc that are openly selling drugs and illegal fire arms through Craigslist?
    oh yes, they only accept good ol green dollars so the DEA gets its cut. This is just to demonize bitcoins because the feds can't get their cuts.

    How's that Drug War working out for you, America?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 11:23 adults do not mess with drugs,
      all the facking drug traffickers, dealers and pushers want is some money, well, I am all for confiscating all their money and donating their arses to research, in prison.
      Como la ves desde ahi, güey?

      Delete
    2. 3:17
      funny how the pharmaceutical companies that told your kids that opiates weren't at all addictive and caused the opiod epidemic that's pretty much bankrupting your whole social services and economy aren't getting arrested.
      But hey, lets blame it all on internet needs selling peanuts amd waste more taxes in a never ending cycle you seem so much to love.

      Again, how's that war on drugs working out fot you?

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    3. At 12:55 pharm co did not tell kids that opiates were not at all addictive, in fact they said that to no one. What was said/done was a downplay of addiction associated with opiates to PHYSICIANS.

      Secondly, the opioid "crisis" was created when gov clamped down with unreasonable restrictions after a drug prescription free for all, with no net for those chronic pain sufferers dependent on opiates, almost all who began after a legitimate cause. A wise, thoughtful government would have protected those falling through the cracks, with alternatives, rehab, or under the supervision of a chronic pain physician.
      Instead, chronic pain sufferers were left to their own devices and a large number turned to the street black market. There they discovered that heroin was a much cheaper drug ...hence a bigger problem created.
      Don't feed into the hype, and headlines. Research. Educate yourself. and BTW those opiate ODs? they include heroin ODs, something the gov and media glosses over making it seem they are from RX opiates solely. It is 50k ods for all opiate base drugs.
      or about 1/3 of alcohol related deaths

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    4. Underestimating or hiding the risks of opiates to consummers in the US was easy, it just took some kickbacks through lobbyists and making sure the centavos got to the right pockets, to get approved by the FDA and get your medicare medicaid and insurance payment's got got by all the parties interested, miraculously by the time there was a need for meth, there was already plenty supply, isn't that aomething?

      Delete
    5. Thank you Chivis, you have stated that really clear. One could add, that most of the suffering and what makes longtime opiate users so down on their luck and in bad a state is the high prices they have to pay for their painkillers-of-the-streets and that's mainly because of it all being illegal(ized). Another thing is that ALL substances can be deadly, it is always dependent on the dosage (and the more hysterical the public is going about such a subject, the less they are actually practical in going about with such things, and the less actual users learn to understand it as well). Now in my opinion, unlike opiates that are actually not physicality harmful, cocaine is toxic, and especially so in the crack (freebase) version (which causes an instant wish to keep going on using it the moment one has taken one puff). It wears the body out and - you can tell when you look at all those bigtime drug lords, they all start acting completely moronic and inhuman - has a tremendous impact on the behaviour of its user. Not so with the humble opiatic, in the ancient times called a 'Godsent' and a 'cure-for-all' by Homer and Aristotel - it might make its user drowsy or make him nod off, but it will not do much in terms of harm, it might actuary keep its user from causing trouble (except for those too desperate for their next fix).. and not in the least place because it also acts as an antipsychotic agent. Now I don't mean to say with all this that I am all for a world full of drug users. We would not get much work done, if any, if that were the state of affairs. I am just saying, that the harsh, aggressive, and, well let's call it by name, repressive ways (the) authorities this far have gone about this, has done more harm than that it has done any good. And it drives those who ARE using such substances away from where you would want them to go, as they will just feel hatred for the government that treats them so unfriendly and that lacks understanding so badly.

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  7. Went through all that trouble and still sent bitcoin to an account that could be directly traced to him, bearded yolkle

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    1. Oh that is because he wanted his funds to be secure in case its account lost a few coins there and overthere. Because all those snakes actually never know when all those funds might just vanish, you know!!

      Delete
    2. 3:21 you are not bein' nice,
      te vo' a hackiar güey.
      La Mencha

      Delete
  8. Play the game, pay the price. There are many dope dealers that dont take dumb chances and dont get caught. With the darknet, some people who are not actual underworld figures get a false sense of security. One stupid mistake and you've left a trail that you can never erase.
    Thankfully there are zillions of legal ways to make money that dont involve dope, jail, and heartache.

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    1. 4:04 well, america's biggest billionaires did it the old way, they even say it in public tell it to any recorder that wants to hear it and record for posterity.
      people hear that they worked for all of it,
      --BIGGEST BILLIONAIRES know 'old way' is STOLE ALL OF IT.

      Delete
  9. They need to shut the darkweb down permanently just for the child pornography alone! Them creeps go to the darkweb to find kids to have sex with! If they are grown and stupid enough to do drugs thats bad enough but these perverts need to be stopped and one of the ways to help that would be to shut down the dark web!

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    1. Not quite sure why everyone seems to be hating on this man, he messed up , yes but why would anyone assume he's gonna get BF'd in jail... in fact I think he was smart , until he gave himself they stupid name "OXYMONSTER" ... sounds scary.. anyhow.. ever since the new opiate regulations here in CA, HEROIN is BACK!! Mainly in affluent well to do neighborhoods , and of course amongst the poor peeps too I'm sure..Like someone else said , it's just waaaay easier to score H than deal w PHARMACIES.. I wonder if somehow the GOVT knew that was gonnna happen???!?

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  10. He probably gets 5 years max .

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    Replies
    1. 11:22 pero las medidas de aceite que le van a dar en el tambo le van a durar toda la vida,
      "Levante ese jabón de polvo" will be the first spanish lesson

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    2. @7:01 Baby girl you speaking from experience? - Sol Prendido

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  11. he has red beard not brown!

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  12. He should've learned from Dread Pirate who started the Silk Road dark web drug bazaar. He's now sitting in prison for life! This guy will be lucky to not get a similar sentence.

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  13. Im pretty sure he has more bitcoin locked up in hardware wallets! & that 500000 in btc is probably worth like 800000

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