Student Sentenced for Reselling Drugs Sourced on the Darkweb

A student at the University of Chester was sentenced to prison for buying drugs on the darkweb and selling them locally.

Gayan Aponsu, 22, a student at the University of Chester, was sentenced to prison at the Chester Crown Court after pleading guilty to two counts of importing class A and class B drugs, three counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply, and three counts of supplying class A drugs.

According to public information sources, the student admitted he had purchased a variety of drugs from a darkweb vendor based in the Netherlands. He also admitted he resold the drugs once his shipments had arrived.

During the sentencing hearing on July 2, 2021, the court was told that Aponsu’s drug trafficking operation was discovered after Border Force officers intercepted two incoming packages. The packages shipped out of the Netherlands. The officers opened the packages and found 20 grams of 57 MDMA and 10 grams of ketamine.

The packages were addressed to Aponsu’s residence but under the name of one of his friends. The police arrested the friend questioned him. During the interview, police established that the friend had no connection to the defendant’s drug trafficking operation.

The police later executed a search warrant at Aponsu’s residence. The search resulted in the seizure of 1.7 grams of cocaine, 10 LSD tablets, and 57.75 MDMA tablets. The officers also found and seized weighing scales, bags, and a mobile phone.

The officers found text messages on Aponsu’s phone that showed that he had been reselling drugs. Officers found two of Aponsu’s bank accounts that had been consistently receiving small deposits suspected to be payments for the drug sales. Officers also gained access to Aponsu’s cryptocurrency wallet and established that he had received and sent $7,000 in crypto.

Aponsu pleaded guilty to two counts of importing class A and class B drugs, three counts of possession of class A drugs with intent to supply, and three counts of supplying class A drugs.

Speaking before issuing a sentence Judge Mark Ainsworth said:

“You were able to source ecstasy and ketamine from the so-called dark web and arranged for them to be sent to the UK to your address. To do that, you used the name of a fellow student, who was wholly blameless. He suffered the distress of being arrested and interviewed he must have sat there thinking his world was falling apart. His only misfortune was knowing you. It’s quite shameful you should involve him in this way.”

Judge Ainsworth then sentenced Aponsu to three years and eight months in prison.

Proceeds of crime hearing against Aponsu will take place in November this year.