A US man who was a vendor on the original AlphaBay darknet market was found guilty in federal court on Tuesday, Mar 7th, for charges related to distributing a fentanyl analog that led to the deaths of at least two people. Henry Konah Koffie, 37, of Pennsylvania, is believed to have used the vendor names DNMKingpin and NarcoBoss while a vendor at AlphaBay where he sold a powerful fentanyl analog that led to three overdoses between May 2016 and May 2017.
The product sold by the vendor was advertised as a “synthetic heroin fentanyl mix” which he named “China White,” though in reality it was furanylfentanyl, which has roughly the same potency as fentanyl and is 50x stronger than heroin. Purchases made from AlphaBay vendor NarcoBoss were directly linked to two overdose deaths in the city of Portland, Oregon, while a third victim was saved by Narcan injection.
Koffie was indicted back in Aug 2017 after investigators in Pennsylvania made controlled purchases of his AlphaBay goods, matching fingerprints on packages of furanylfentanyl sent elsewhere to fingerprints on packages received by the undercover investigators. The vendor was also found to have received 14 packages of the substance from suppliers in China and Hong Kong, weighing about 7 kg in all.
A laptop belonging to Koffie contained a tutorial and video titled “How to Ship Drugs Stealthy” which he purchased off the darknet in 2014. He described himself as “a professional entrepreneur from Southwest Philadelphia” on Facebook, where he was not hesitant about sharing his financial successes with the public.
Koffie heads back to court on May 30 to face sentencing where he will face a maximum sentence of life in prison, along with a $10 million fine for two counts of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death, one count of distribution of a controlled substance resulting in serious bodily injury, and five counts of distribution of a controlled substance.