GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A New Hampshire man has been sentenced to 156 months in prison for shipping fentanyl to Grand Rapids in the mail. He is 24-year-old Craig Warme.
According to the Department of Justice, Warme operated an online store on the dark web under the username “DopeKingUSA” from June-December 2022. The site advertised various forms of heroin for sale and mailed drug orders across the country. While the site was operational, Warme received a total of $417,355 in gross sales.
The website also sent drugs to undercover investigators in Grand Rapids through the United States Postal Service. Investigators determined that the drugs that Warme sent was not actually heroin, but were instead fentanyl.
The court found that Warme had trafficked more than 10 kilograms of fentanyl while his web store was operational.
Warme pled guilty to conspiring to distribute fentanyl. At his sentencing, District Court Judge Jane M. Beckering ordered than when Warme is released from prison, he will be on supervised release for three years.
“Foolishly, Mr. Warme though he could illegally operate an online store on the dark web trafficking poison across our state and country,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten. “My office will hold traffickers peddling drugs accountable.”
“This investigation clearly demonstrates the dark web does not provide a safe haven from which criminals can anonymously distribute fentanyl and other illicit drugs,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Orville Greene. “DEA and our partners will relentlessly pursue individuals like Mr. Warme, no matter where they operate or the means by which they distribute their illicit and deadly products.”
“Postal inspectors work every day to prevent the flow of illicit drugs through the U.S. mail and to ensure the safety and security of the American people,” said Inspector in Charge Rodney Hopkins of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service’s Detroit Division. “This investigation and resulting sentence imposed today on Craig Warme is a testament to the commitment postal inspectors and our law enforcement partners have to identifying and seeking prosecution of individuals who are deliberately distributing deadly fentanyl into our communities. The Postal Inspection Service is committed to combatting the opioid and fentanyl epidemic by pursuing drug traffickers who attempt to exploit the distribution channels of the Postal Service while wrongly believing the dark web allows them to engage in criminal activity with anonymity.”
