Ex-Postal Worker, Dark Web Vendor Pleads Guilty To Drug Charges
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A 32-year-old dark web vendor and former U.S. Postal Service worker has pleaded guilty to drug distribution charges.
Cory Nicholas Skinner, of Pikesville, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute 100 grams of more of heroin, as well as quantities of cocaine and buprenorphine.
He faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison with a mandatory minimum five-year prison term. Skinner's sentencing is set for August 13..
According to his plea agreement, the investigation into Skinner began while authorities were investigating the death of a University of Arkansas police officer.
A detective found an opened Priority Mail package that had been shipped from Baltimore.
United States Postal Inspection Service found that two other packages, destined for Arizona and North Carolina, were connected to the package sent to Arkansas.
The North Carolina package contained approximately 2.8 grams of heroin, and the Arizona package had approximately four buprenorphine units.
The person who received the package in North Carolina told investigators he used bitcoin to purchase heroin from an online vendor on the Dream Market, a site on the dark web.
Authorities reportedly found Skinner's fingerprints on the packages.
Maryland postal inspectors did surveillance on Skinner from September 2017 to January 2018, and reportedly intercepted more than 20 packages that Skinner sent through the mail.
Inside those packages, authorities reportedly found 47.5 grams of heroin and 81 buprenorphine units.
Authorities also found that Skinner had sold approximately 290.5 grams of heroin, 97.5 grams of cocaine, and 216 units of buprenorphine as a vendor on the dark web.
Skinner's home was searched by officers, and they report finding more than $6,000 in cash, plastic baggies, a digital scale, heat and bag sealers, a large amount of Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express shipping supplies, $23.75 in postal stamps
When officers searched Skinner's residence, they found the laptop he used to run the dark web vendor DoggFood on the Dream Market, printed labels, approximately $6,600 in cash, plastic baggies, a digital scale, heat and bag sealers, a large amount of Priority Mail and Priority Mail Express shipping supplies, $23.75 in postal stamps, a loaded Smith & Wesson 9mm firearm, and 12 rounds of Luger 9mm ammunition.
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