A US man behind the DopeKingUSA vendor operation was sentenced to 13 years in prison on Thurs, June 8th. Craig Warme, 24, of New Hampshire, is said to have shipped about 10 kg in fentanyl as a darknet market vendor, completing over $417,000 worth of sales during his six-month career, which lasted from June to December 2022
Warme, who operated primarily on the now-defunct AlphaBay marketplace, was arrested last December, and pleaded guilty to charges against him in February. He frequently advertised his products as heroin, but they almost exclusively contained fentanyl and other substances. A criminal complaint was filed against him as early as November 17, 2022, although almost no details emerged on the case until last week. A co-conspirator was also named in court records who is currently pending trial.
DopeKingUSA review on Dread posted Nov 13, 2022.
Per historical reviews found on the Dread forum, most DopeKingUSA customers were happy with his products, despite knowing they probably did not contain real heroin. Many reviews mention the timeliness of his deliveries and orders being โoverweightโ by a significant margin. He is said to have completed over 700 orders with a feedback score of 96% on AlphaBay approximately six weeks before his arrest.
Although the exact circumstances leading to Warmeโs arrest are unknown, he was known to be relatively lax concerning OpSec procedures, frequently exposing details about his operation to his customers and on Dread. In addition to listing what he claimed was various types of heroin, DopeKingUSA also had listings for formulations of Oxycontin and Percocet, although these pills most likely contained fentanyl, as well.
Warme was charged with fentanyl distribution conspiracy, fentanyl distribution, and one count of aiding and abetting fentanyl distribution. After finishing his sentence, he will spend an additional three years on supervised release.