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US Judge Sentences 'Dark Web' Operator to 20 Years in Prison


U.S. Justice Department image shows a web screen after it had shut down the dark web marketplace AlphaBay, the site accused of allowing hundreds of thousands of people to buy and sell drugs, firearms, computer hacking tools and other illicit goods, released in Washington, July 20, 2017.
U.S. Justice Department image shows a web screen after it had shut down the dark web marketplace AlphaBay, the site accused of allowing hundreds of thousands of people to buy and sell drugs, firearms, computer hacking tools and other illicit goods, released in Washington, July 20, 2017.

A federal judge Tuesday sentenced the operator of what it calls one of the "largest dark web criminal marketplaces" to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering.

Gal Vallerius called himself "Oxymonster" after the painkiller Oxycodone and the anti-anxiety drug Ritalin that he illegally sold on the so-called "Dark Web."

The Dark Web refers to internet sites that are only accessible through special software that make it impossible to trace users.

Vallerius pleaded guilty in August for allegedly trafficking in drugs and laundering money on the Dream Market website.

Most of Dream Market's customers did their business with cryptocurrencies such as bitcoins

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