German Man Sentenced for Buying Drugs on the Darkweb

A 20-year-old German man was sentenced to probation after admitting that he had used the darkweb to buy cocaine, marijuana, and a counterfeit 50 euro note. The man reportedly acquired the drugs for his consumption and the counterfeit bill to satisfy his curiosity.

On October 15, the 20-year-old appeared before a judge and jury for sentencing in the District Court of Schwandorf. According to the prosecution, investigations began after customs authorities intercepted a package that carried a counterfeit 50 euro note. The Customs authorities turned the package to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), who immediately initiated investigations.

The investigations and controlled delivery of the package led the police to the 20-year-old’s home. On executing a search warrant on the residence, the investigators were welcomed by a strong cannabis smell. The 20-year-old cooperated and took the investigators to his room and showed them where he had hidden 8.63 grams of cocaine and 45 grams of marijuana. The police seized the drugs and arrested the defendant for further questioning. While in police custody, the defendant reportedly disclosed that in addition to the seized drugs, he had ordered 25 grams of cocaine and 60 grams of cocaine on the dark web.

In his testimony, the 22-year-old told the court he had ordered the drugs for personal use only. He then said he ordered the drugs from the dark web because they were superior to those sold in the streets. He also disclosed that he used a weighing balance to confirm that he received the right quantities of the drugs that he had ordered. The prosecution, through a testifying investigator, told the court that the defendant might have been distributing the drugs. The prosecution was, however, unable to provide evidence to prove that the 20-year-old was reselling the drugs.

The prosecution then told the court that drug tests showed that the defendant is an ecstasy, cocaine, and marijuana user. In response, the defendant told the court that he had stopped using ecstasy and cocaine. He also disclosed that he only smokes marijuana occasionally. Judge Petra Froschauer presiding over the case immediately asked the defendant to stop using marijuana to avoid collisions with law enforcement.

On the counterfeit 50 euro note, the defendant disclosed that he had paid 20 euros to the dark web vendor. He said that he had purchased the note out of curiosity and only wanted to take a look at it once. He also said that he had forgotten about it entirely.

In addition to cooperation with law enforcement and abstaining from cocaine and ecstasy use, the defendant told the court that he had been looking for a job since late August. In the end, the jury sentenced the 20-year-old as a juvenile and handed him a six-month probation sentence. The defendant was also ordered to do 80 hours of community services and ten sessions in a drug rehabilitation center.