Maryland Man Enters Guilty Plea in Fentanyl Distribution Case

A man from Gambrills, Maryland, pleaded guilty to possession of fentanyl with intent to distribute after getting caught ordering 10,000 fentanyl pills from a vendor on the darkweb. He told the court that he had spent $10,000 in cryptocurrency on the drugs.

According to an announcement from the Department of Justice, 24-year-old Robert Luke Simpson was one of three defendants from Maryland to admit fentanyl distribution within three days. All three cases were unrelated, United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Robert K. Hur said.

• The case involved Homeland Security Investigations Baltimore; the United States Postal Inspection Service; and Anne Arundel County Police Department.
• The court considered the weight of the fentanyl pills as the gross weight of the product Simpson distributed. He admitted selling “between 400 grams and 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl.”
• Law enforcement found pills hidden in a secret compartment in his house.
• The police seized Bitcoin mining equipment in addition to cash, drugs, and electronics.

Press Release

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Simpson’s residence and found 6,200 fentanyl pills weighing approximately 369 grams, in a hidden compartment in a wall-mounted shelf and on a desk.  Officers also found $8,578 in cash, as well as cell phones, computers, iPads, and Bitcoin cryptocurrency mining equipment.  Simpson admitted that he purchased 10,000 fentanyl pills from a dark web marketplace for approximately $10,000 worth of Bitcoin cryptocurrency.  Simpson sold the fentanyl pills for $5 to $10 each to customers in Maryland.  Simpson admitted that he sold between 400 grams and 1.2 kilograms of fentanyl.

U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III has scheduled sentencing for Simpson on March 2, 2019, at 3:00 p.m.

Archive.is copy of the announcement: link