PlutoPete and RichieRich sentenced to 5 years each

Source: http://www.nationalcrimeagency.gov.uk/news/821-legal-highs-silk-road-vendors-face-jail-for-meth-and-cocaine-dealing

One of the Silk Road's most renowned British vendors and his business partner have been sentenced to a total of ten years after an NCA investigation uncovered the buying and selling of a catalogue of illegal drugs, including crack cocaine and methamphetamine. The pair publically claimed they were running a legitimate business selling legal highs.

Peter Ward, a self-proclaimed 'psychonaut', was known online as PlutoPete. His business specialised in supplying military-grade foil packaging that claimed to hide illegal materials from detection. He also provided new psychoactive substances, commonly referred to as legal highs, and drug paraphernalia.

Ward was arrested by NCA officers in Barnstaple, North Devon in October 2013 following an international operation targeting prominent vendors on Silk Road II.

Officers searched Ward's rural home and found class A and B drugs and numerous computers. They also seized thousands of Post Office receipts with customer details.

Forensics analysis of the machines revealed extensive online activity, with 5,235 sales over two years.

The majority of sales related to legal items, but 54 transactions related to Class A and B drugs. Ward had also been sending 'care packages' of drugs hidden on blotter paper into prisons.

Analysis uncovered his close working with an ex-customer, Richard Hiley, who was commissioned by Ward to convert Bitcoins into cash.

In December 2013, NCA officers raided Hiley's address in Oldbury, West Midlands, after financial records seized from Ward identified large scale transactions between the pair. Hiley's computers and digital devices had messages from three separate Silk Road accounts named RichieRich, happyman and BITCOINS, which detailed 242 transactions related to the sale of cocaine, cannabis and methamphetamine.

2013-06-24- RichieRich (Hiley) to realbrandnew re: rules..."just ordered 50grams of meth so we can really sell it you can do hole g's, half's and 150mg bits and il do 3.5, 5, 7 and 14g's listings its getting expressed from the states so will be 4-5 days il send you 10 grams when it comes and you can pay it off once you sell it."

The message logs also detailed how quickly Hiley's business grew to a size where he began employing people to run the accounts.

21/07/2013 - "Bitcoins (Hiley)to PlutoPete "im so behind I brang matt to answer messages and I have a new girl who is doing 4hrs a day and made a contact in London who might buy happyman off me for a lump sum and a commsion, I have 66 messages and 28 orders witting here the more messages I answer the more they reply and keep on building....just got 14g of meth and the load from the company still to sell but had a good night in London but now need a team of helpers"

Messages recovered also highlighted the potential damage done by the drugs that Hiley was selling over the dark web marketplace.

09/07/2013 - LongRiver to happyman (Hiley) re: subject Hello, How to say it... I spent three week in hospital; the stuff was not good for my body. I fail to die. Are you sure of the quality of your production.."

Ward and Hiley pleaded guilty to 13 charges relating to the possession, supply and importation of Class A and B drugs. Hiley additionally pleaded guilty to two counts of importing a prohibited weapon after he imported five stun guns, claiming that they were for personal protection.

The pair were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 29 February to five years and two months and five years respectively.

Ian Glover, NCA Branch Commander, said:

"Criminals and their customers like to think that dark web market places provide an anonymous haven.

"The reality is that law enforcement works together internationally to identify and pursue these people.

"As in Ward's case, dealers often don't take any care in handling personal details of customers. We are working with our law enforcement partners to further identify and pursue those illegally trading in drugs and firearms online."


Comments


[6 Points] UKhead:

Was it not PlutoPete that got raided whilst SR2 was still going and was shown all the messages he had been sending to others, and at that point expressed on forums that SR2 must be under police control as they had very recent messages, but it ended up getting deleted?

He got bailed straight away if I remember as he only had legal items bagged up ready to sell. It seems like RichieRich was the idiot in this case, not being very sensible with his messages.

The NCA are a joke though, are they taking this as some kind of victory?

5,235 sales over two years. The majority of sales related to legal items, but 54 transactions related to Class A and B drugs.

"Renowned British vendors", renowned maybe, significant, no.


[6 Points] ReamTeam513:

Sending blotters to prisons? Hahah that's awesome!


[6 Points] The_fire_bird:

"The reality is that law enforcement works together internationally to identify and pursue these people."

...

"As in Ward’s case, dealers often don’t take any care in handling personal details of customers."

...

Ward was arrested by NCA officers in Barnstaple, North Devon in October 2013

...

The pair were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 29 February [2016]

So the NCA are bragging that it took them two and a half years to convict someone who had taken (according to them) no care whatsoever?

By that token I'd guess that anyone who actually knows the technical side or Tor could still keep themselves completely safe?

NCA do your fucking job and start arresting kiddie fiddlers that just so happen to be of Pakistani origin.


[2 Points] horavack:

"they also found thousands Post Office recirpts with custome detail."

Fucking dumbass.

IRL I have never a dealer that would run that risk. And the DNM are safer?

No.


[2 Points] SpecialAgentDildo:

RIP Pluto Pete I worked with him several times and the last time just a few months ago. It was legal items both times. I had no idea he was up to other things but I can't say I'm shocked. He really was a nice guy and carried products that were often hard to find.


[2 Points] ketaminesky:

Didn't know there was even a demand for meth in the UK


[2 Points] None:

In the USA that would have been a life sentence.


[0 Points] Vendor_BBMC:

RicheyRich was one of my customers on Silk Road. He popped up now and again, always hovering in a helicopter in the vicinity of trouble. He had that Silkroad vendor vibe about him, like VarietyJones and Hiniguel. People used to ask him to intervene on their behalf if I caught them up to no good. he was always apologising for other vendors and promising it wouldn't happen again.

Whenever there was trouble among UK meth vendors he used to message me to sort it out. I think he was a vendor on Silk Road who got banned, but he used to talk with the tone of one vendor to another.

The last time we spoke, he asked for my permission to give another vendor bad feedback (HQUK) on Agora. I guess that's where he was getting the terrible meth from (it was originally from Verdelimon I believe. HQUK was really a weed vendor who claimed to have received meth by accident when he ordered cocaine, so I was trying to help him negotiate the cut throat meth market and get rid of it without losing his market rating).

Unfortunately, it was heavily-cut meth, very difficult to sell to UK customers. Plus, he was a terrible vendor. After he sold it and I worked like buggery to stop meth customers giving him bad feedback with bribes of good meth, what did he do?

He only bought some more! Hed thought selling ice was easy and was full of himself, telling me how he was going to "destroy" me because his meth was great and he was a better meth vendor (he's never tried meth, but got pretty heavily into his own coke). It was a full on all-in-upper-case grandiose psychopath rant.

He didn't destroy me, he exit scammed, and is now Quicklicks I think