'Fentmaster' Sentenced For Selling Fentanyl, Synthetic Opioids

MIDDLETOWN, NY — A Hudson Valley man was sentenced for importing and trafficking fentanyl analogs and other synthetic opioids through the dark web.

Chukwuemeka Okparaeke, 32, of Middletown, was sentenced Friday in White Plains federal court to 15 years in prison, according to Audrey Strauss, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.

Okparaeke previously pleaded guilty to distributing U-47700, a controlled substance analog of AH-7921; importing 100 grams and more of acryl fentanyl, a controlled substance analog of fentanyl, from Hong Kong; and making false statements to the government regarding the proceeds of his offenses, prosecutors said.

Through his guilty plea, he admitted that in November 2016, he sold U-47700 to an 18-year-old who died from an overdose after using the drug.

Okparaeke also admitted his narcotics offenses involve more than 9 kilograms of acryl fentanyl, nearly 6 kilograms of U-47700, more than a kilogram of furanyl fentanyl, as well as 12 grams of 4-ANPP.

Strauss said Okparaeke previously admitted that he peddled highly addictive opioids over the darknet, including to an 18-year-old Washington resident who died from them.

"Okparaeke also lied to agents and prosecutors about the whereabouts of Bitcoins representing millions of dollars in poison-peddling proceeds," she said. "Now Okparaeke will forfeit those proceeds and go to prison for his crimes."

Prosecutors said, from July 2016 through March 2017, Okparaeke imported quantities of fentanyl analogs from Hong Kong and China into the United States.

He used a darknet website known as AlphaBay Market to transact with customers and coordinate his narcotics sales.

Under the AlphaBay vendor name "Fentmaster," Okparaeke engaged in more than 7,000 sales of synthetic opioids shipped to customers throughout the United States using the U.S. Postal Service.

His trafficking generated criminal proceeds of at least 680.60963624 Bitcoins, worth millions of dollars, prosecutors said.

Okparaeke sold 3 grams of U-47700 to the 18-year-old in November 2016. The teenager used the drugs and died in an overdose Nov. 10, 2016.

Using extensive measures to conceal his identity on AlphaBay, Okparaeke boasted online about being a darknet drug dealer. He even published a short story describing his criminal activities and strategies for evading law enforcement.

In January 2017, Customs and Border Protection, along with Homeland Security Investigations and postal service inspectors, intercepted several packages containing the synthetic drugs Okparaeke had imported from overseas.

In March 2017, a drug house Okparaeke maintained in Kearny, New Jersey, was searched, resulting in the seizure of illegal drugs and about 82 mailing envelopes containing small amounts of drugs he had packaged for distribution.

Okparaeke met with representatives from Strauss's office in September and told them, falsely, that the more than 680 Bitcoins were no longer in his possession or control. He said a third party had stolen them by hacking and other unauthorized access to his electronic accounts.

He later surrendered the Bitcoins to the postal service and agreed to forfeit those proceeds as part of his plea agreement.

In addition to prison, Okparaeke was sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to forfeit $105,177.30 in U.S. currency and the more than 680 Bitcoins, representing proceeds of his narcotics trafficking.