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Delivery is the weakest link in the "dark web" drug trade: the postal habits of a large-scale trader have led to his undoing.
Chukwuemeka Okparaeke is accused of dealing in very nasty stuff: Fentanyl, a high-strength synthetic opioid the Centre for Disease Control says is 50 times the potency of heroin and was responsible for nearly 10,000 deaths in the US in 2015.
Okparaeke may have been a capable Tor user, but his logistical clue needed work: he was caught not because someone linked him to his handle ("Fentmaster", on a site called the AlphaBay Marketplace), but because wearing latex gloves while depositing large numbers of packages at US post offices got the attention of staff.
He was seen at several post offices in the Middletown area of New York, and because he was bulk-buying priority delivery stamps, staff had also viewed his driver's licence.
-- submitted from IRC
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 22 2017, @03:01AM (8 children)
Where you can't wear latex gloves without being suspected of a crime.
What's next? Jailing hippies because they look like the type that protest wars?
Or maybe? Preemptively modding down trolls because they might be thinking about posting FUCK SOYLENT NEWS!
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Grishnakh on Wednesday March 22 2017, @03:55AM (1 child)
He wasn't jailed for wearing latex gloves; he simply attracted attention because of this clue, and combined with a bunch of other evidence the cops were able to put it all together and figure out this guy was dealing fentanyl through the mail. This sounds like good old-fashioned solid police work, the kind they're supposed to be doing, without violating any rights (arguments about whether dealing strong prescription drugs should be criminal aside).
This guy sounded like he didn't really know what he was doing. If you're going to drop lots of packages containing illicit substances in the mail, do it in various outdoor mailboxes around town, at night, when no one's looking. Don't drop them at the PO during the daytime in full view of the workers with your gloved hands, after buying tons of postage stamps.
(Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 22 2017, @06:39AM
The thing is, the US Postal Service will no longer deliver any stamped mail over 13 ounces unless they are presented in person to a USPS employee at a post office [usps.com]. Granted, I am assuming that some of the sent packages here weight more than 13 ounces - I don't make a lot of purchases of "illegal" drugs.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by c0lo on Wednesday March 22 2017, @05:17AM (3 children)
I really doubt it was the gloves that triggered the whole thing.
But, in case it is - take a tube of silicone sealant and smear a bit on the fingers, let it cure for a few minutes and you'll have the same effect as latex gloves with less visibility.
Or superglue, or "liquid nails" or anything that can create a film temporary temporary stuck to you skin.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoFiw2jMy-0 https://soylentnews.org/~MichaelDavidCrawford
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Wednesday March 22 2017, @01:47PM
In grade school I remember we were making "fake skin" by coating the flat side of the hand (palms and fingers) with Elmers glue and see who could peel theirs off without ripping it. I also remember a tube of liquid gloves kicking around the basement. Something along the same lines as the elmers glue except you coated your whole hand and washed it off when finished.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by jcross on Wednesday March 22 2017, @03:07PM (1 child)
No need, just wear a snazzy outfit with quality leather gloves and nobody will think it's suspicious.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday March 22 2017, @09:26PM
Or those thin work gloves like many handles-boxes-all-day types do.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by Aiwendil on Wednesday March 22 2017, @10:10AM (1 child)
Well, that is a case of stupidity should be painful.
He could just have worn thin cotton gloves over the latex gloves and glanced at his hand and simple stated "eczema flared up" when he noticed they noticed the hand, or he could just have worn the latex gloves and stated "I'm a bit hypochondriac and have a bad day with it".
Or he could have used one of the several discreet techniques that exist to prevent leaving fingerprints not involving gloves.
(Score: 1) by nekomata on Wednesday March 22 2017, @10:42AM
> Or he could have used one of the several discreet techniques that exist to prevent leaving fingerprints not involving gloves.
Such as ... ?