Lee County Sheriff: Man Arrested for Buying Drugs on Dark Web Using Crypto

#Lee County Sheriff: Man Arrested for Buying Drugs on Dark Web Using Crypto

#The Arrest

A 26-year-old man from Lee County, Florida, was arrested after a suspicious package addressed to him was found to contain drugs. The Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) was alerted by a postal inspector about the package, and a K9 unit was used to detect narcotics.

#The Investigation

The LCSO, along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, investigated and found that the man, Daniel Nestor Pesantes, had paid for the drugs on the dark web using cryptocurrency. According to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, the suspects are getting more sophisticated in their methods, using cryptocurrency to buy drugs on the dark web.

#The Seizure

The package contained:

• More than 300 pills consisting of a wide variety of narcotics

Additional drugs were also found at Pesantes' home.

#How the Man Used Crypto

Pesantes used cryptocurrency to buy the drugs on the dark web, making it a challenge for law enforcement to track the transaction. Sheriff Marceno said, "The suspects are clever. They're not doing the street level deal. What they're doing is they're using cryptocurrency to buy on the dark web, so it's a new challenge for us."

#Charges and Arrest

Pesantes is facing four drug charges.

#The Process of Detection

The LCSO used a K9 unit to detect the narcotics in the package. Marceno explained, "What we do then is utilizing a canine and an open air sniff of that package, it detects narcotics and right away we know that we have to build that investigation from there, which led us to a search warrant of the package and a search warrant to the person's house and then the arrests."

#Key Facts

• The man used cryptocurrency to buy drugs on the dark web.
• The package was detected by a K9 unit.
• More than 300 pills were found in the package.
• Additional drugs were found at the suspect's home.
• The man is facing four drug charges. using this new information: ## Lee County Sheriff: Man Arrested for Buying Drugs on Dark Web Using Crypto

#The Arrest

A 26-year-old man from Lee County, Florida, was arrested after a suspicious package addressed to him was found to contain drugs. The Lee County Sheriff's Office (LCSO) was alerted by a postal inspector about the package, and a K9 unit was used to detect narcotics.

#The Investigation

The LCSO, along with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, investigated and found that the man, Daniel Nestor Pesantes, had paid for the drugs on the dark web using cryptocurrency. According to Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno, the suspects are getting more sophisticated in their methods, using cryptocurrency to buy drugs on the dark web.

#The Seizure

The package contained:

• More than 300 pills consisting of a wide variety of narcotics

Additional drugs were also found at Pesantes' home.

#How the Man Used Crypto

Pesantes used cryptocurrency to buy the drugs on the dark web, making it a challenge for law enforcement to track the transaction. Sheriff Marceno said, "The suspects are clever. They're not doing the street level deal. What they're doing is they're using cryptocurrency to buy on the dark web, so it's a new challenge for us."

#Charges and Arrest

Pesantes is facing four drug charges.

#The Process of Detection

The LCSO used a K9 unit to detect the narcotics in the package. Marceno explained, "What we do then is utilizing a canine and an open air sniff of that package, it detects narcotics and right away we know that we have to build that investigation from there, which led us to a search warrant of the package and a search warrant to the person's house and then the arrests."

#Key Facts

• The man used cryptocurrency to buy drugs on the dark web.
• The package was detected by a K9 unit.
• More than 300 pills were found in the package.
• Additional drugs were found at the suspect's home.
• The man is facing four drug charges. with this new information: Lee County deputies arrested a man after they said they found a package containing drugs he ordered.

Deputies waited for Daniel Pesantes on Wednesday at the U.S. Postal Service Processing Center near Southwest International Airport.

Postal inspectors suspected he would arrive to claim a questionable package full of drugs. In the arrest report, Pesantes called the Postal Service nine times last month, asking where his package was.

That led to them tipping off deputies, and a K-9 unit detected 50 Xanax pills in the bag he picked up.

Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno said cryptocurrency paid for the drugs, which also raised a red flag for deputies.

This led investigators to search Pesantes' home, where they found even more drugs bought on the dark web.

This includes 260 alprazolam pills, 28 Clonazepam pills, 19 clonidine hydrochloride pills, and 13 pantoprazole pills.

"They're always thinking of a way to scam and get away from the system and do things differently. So what we do see is them utilizing the mail. Right? Again, they know in Lee County we don't play games, and we work with our postal inspector, who does a great job," Marceno said.

The sheriff says Pesantes has a history of battery and possession of controlled substances. It was also discovered that Pesantes has a history of previously receiving several packages matching the same suspicion as this one.