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[–]Techno_Cat 731 points732 points  (500 children)

How did you get caught?

[–]xxcxcxc 1008 points1009 points  (499 children)

A package was flagged from Holland with my name and address on and police turned up to my house. They confiscated my phone, computer and laptop and found evidence against me.

[–]DSEthno23 498 points499 points  (451 children)

What happened afterward? I'm assuming nothing too strict if you're on Reddit!

[–]xxcxcxc 1238 points1239 points  (444 children)

I was bailed by the police and answered bail after 6 months.

I was referred to Magistrate's court and bailed for a further 6 months.

I was then referred from MC to Crown Court and bailed for yet another 6 months or so.

I attended Crown Court 5 times and was entering an early guilty plea. Looking at the guidelines my solicitor said it was 100% a custodial sentence and to expect 3 years at most with your credit. So after trying to plead guilty for 4 court appearances, the judge was still not happy with the case going ahead because the prosecution had missed things out and made errors. My solicitor was also pretty useless and the judge wasn't happy.

At my final appearance I gave evidence in the dock as the prosecution implied that I was a commercial drug dealer who was making a profit. I said that I wasn't making any profit and the drugs were intended to be sold on at cost price to close friends.

The judge made a call based on my character and ignored a lot of the evidence against me. He reduced the sentence down to 12 months, suspended for 2 years and gave me some community service.

[–]dasstigpig 1098 points1099 points  (192 children)

The amount of time I feel that judges don't give the correct sentence to the crime it's really refreshing to see a judge take into consideration inadequate lawyers and good defence character to make a lenient call. Good on him

[–]xxcxcxc 500 points501 points  (129 children)

This made me smile, thanks :)

[–]dj_destroyer 123 points124 points  (123 children)

In Canada, I find judges often get the verdict/sentencing right. They're pretty smart people and they don't put up with bullshit.

[–][deleted] 252 points253 points  (108 children)

You see it in America too, you just hear about the bad ones.

[–]CursedLlama 126 points127 points  (68 children)

Same thing with cops, really. Most are good people but once in a while a bad story shows up and reddit throws up their arms and cries oppression.

The world is not black and white and you cannot lump that many people into one category.

[–][deleted] 175 points176 points  (8 children)

I'm confused, what's with all this sensibility going on here...

[–]That_Unknown_Guy 19 points20 points  (1 child)

I think you're mistaken. Its not most cops people have a problem with. Its that cops can be bad and have little repercussion. What this means is that you can't trust cops because there is little stopping the had ones from being bad. Each time you deal with a cop, you take a risk. Lets say 2% of all cops are shitty people abusing the system, each time you deal with one theres a 2 % chance you'll get fucked (varying in severity).

[–][deleted]  (2 children)

[deleted]

    [–]spaghettin 9 points10 points  (0 children)

    The phrase 'a bad apple spoils the bunch' is often misunderstood.

    True, not all cops are bad -- but the fact is, once that criminal behavior is allowed to exist, it eventually becomes systemic.

    [–]shamelessguy 7 points8 points  (1 child)

    reddit throws up their arms and cries oppression

    you cannot lump that many people into one category

    You just did.

    [–]Dunk-The-Lunk 5 points6 points  (0 children)

    Bullshit. Most cops are bad ones. There are a few good ones. Don't let their propaganda fool you. If you cover for the behavior of a bad cops you are a bad cop.

    [–]jvw2941 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Not all are bad, just most that I myself encounter enjoy their superficial power trip of a life a little too much for my respect...

    [–]adanceparty 4 points5 points  (5 children)

    once in a while? I see stories every single day. Not exaggerating, every day about cops doing ridiculous shit or abusing power.

    [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

    Don't tell /r/conspiracy that. Not unless you enjoy being downvoted into infinity.

    [–]nolledge 6 points7 points  (6 children)

    It's not all about the judge, either. I've been fucked by a prosecutor who had a personal issue with me and was sent back to prison exclusively because she wanted me to.

    [–]tranquil45 4 points5 points  (5 children)

    Out of interest, what were they?

    [–]obi_wan_knobie 1 point2 points  (2 children)

    Something that pisses me off about the courts here in the States is that even when the verdict is right due to the circumstances, which means the system is working, and people get all upset because they "feel" like it's wrong.

    [–]Dasupalouie 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Depends, I know people who work in corrections and they have convicts come up to them and say "if I kill you I just miss lunch."

    [–]Jackstrap117 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    They did set Guy Turcotte non-criminally responsable for the murder of his two children though. Nothing is ever perfect :(

    [–]trakam 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    I presume you're not black?

    [–]MistaSmiles 32 points33 points  (21 children)

    I'd say that typically in a courtroom, the judge is the most sensible person there

    [–]thepellow 43 points44 points  (13 children)

    That judge that let that kid off for affluenza sure proved that wrong.

    [–]2a0c40 38 points39 points  (10 children)

    And the one that was getting paid to send kids to a private juvenile prison.

    [–]Aristo-Cat 47 points48 points  (8 children)

    what about all the other judges that made sensible decisions in the majority of their cases that didn't get reported by the media or posted on the front page of reddit?

    [–]luckywaldo7 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    what about all the other judges that made sensible decisions in the majority of their cases that didn't get reported by the media or posted on the front page of reddit?

    Perhaps because /r/notinteresting is not a default subreddit.

    [–]Trini_redd_Mk_II 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    That was simply one of the most sickening stories that I ever heard. Educated me about dangers of the prison industrial complex

    [–]Hoobleton 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    typically

    [–]Ubergeeek 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Considering the judge who set that lad from Warrington UK down for 2 years for Tweeting "lets start a riot", I beg to differ.

    [–]c0rnhuli0 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Spend more time in courtrooms.

    [–]EnbyDee 47 points48 points  (10 children)

    I feel that sentences are misreprented by a right wing media, particularly in the UK. Judges are made out as ivory tower encumbents with no knowledge of 'the real world' where they are the very people dealing day in day out with child custody battles between heroin addicted mothers and the state or violent offenders and are therefore perhaps the best placed to make value judgements on the evidence before them rather than victims or anyone else.

    [–]dasstigpig 2 points3 points  (2 children)

    No, I appreciate that we see the very worst sentencing in the media (not necessarily just right Wing either) but our judicial system isn't exactly modern. It was still relatively antiquated compared to say Holland or Germany. Until recent reforms anyway. When repeat offenders for petty crime are continually given suspended sentences though it completely undermines the law. Lack of deterrent.

    [–]EnbyDee 1 point2 points  (1 child)

    Fair enough, I was perhaps thinking more of 'harder' cases where sentencing power is either restricted or the facts are tremendously difficult to dissolve into a simple ruling.

    [–]SuperBlaar 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Yeah, we get a lot of this in France too, the right-wing media generally portrays judges as leftists who never deliver harsh enough sentences to criminals, who are too understanding, etc. It's the same kind of newspapers which attack stuff like proximity policing, or reforms made to make prisons safer.

    [–]Arch_0 6 points7 points  (3 children)

    A friend of mine got caught with around half a kilo of weed. He got about 200 hours community service. This is in the UK by the way. Basically because he was a student and realistically was just selling to friends. He thinks it's almost entirely because of the person he was with who was buy that much regularly as well as selling various pills on the side.

    [–]gsfgf 161 points162 points  (67 children)

    I said that I wasn't making any profit and the drugs were intended to be sold on at cost price to close friends

    Damn. Just saying that in court where I live will get you five years mandatory minimum for possession with intent.

    [–]NoNeedForAName 54 points55 points  (6 children)

    A one-year minimum where I live, but yeah, that would be a dumbass thing to say around here.

    I actually had a client once who was arrested for cocaine possession. He had a misdemeanor amount. When they found it, he tried to make it sound better by saying he wasn't going to use it all; he was on his way to a party and was going to share it with his friends. Fucker didn't realize he'd just admitted he intended to distribute his cocaine, which automatically bumped him up to a felony.

    [–]gsfgf 16 points17 points  (5 children)

    Ouch. And we don't even have misdemeanor cocaine here in my red state. Any amount is a felony. Because that makes a lot of sense.

    [–]NoNeedForAName 8 points9 points  (2 children)

    My state generally has a misdemeanor simple possession charge for all drugs, but like a lot of jurisdictions the penalties for distribution, manufacture, etc., are harsher for "hard" drugs, and those penalties also tend to increase faster.

    For instance, you might get an E felony (our lowest) for growing up to 10 pot plants, but just for having anhydrous ammonia or too much pseudoephedrine (meth precursors) is a D felony or higher. Possession with intent to sell just 0.5 grams of meth is, IIRC, a B felony (that's 8 to 30 years).

    [–]NanoTechMethLab 15 points16 points  (0 children)

    cough

    "Hey, I can't come in to work today. I have anhydrous pneumonia."

    [–]Evsie 228 points229 points  (46 children)

    Do you live in the Land Of The Free, by any chance?

    [–]gsfgf 168 points169 points  (11 children)

    God Bless AmericaTerms and Conditions Apply

    [–][deleted] 59 points60 points  (7 children)

    *Must be rich, white, and Christian. Subject to change without notice at any time.

    [–]Rek07 5 points6 points  (2 children)

    2 out of 3 will do for most.

    [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    3/3 and you have the trifecta, people will shower you with praise and knight you as an almighty Job Creator and wait for the trickle down.

    [–]Fizzwidgy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Well, at least being white will be a decent deterrent of suspicion until I get rich.

    [–]Bear_Taco 51 points52 points  (32 children)

    I KNOW I DO! 'MURICA!!! FUCK YEAH!

    but seriously though, our drug laws are shit and everyone knows it.

    [–]Mad_Hatter_Bot 64 points65 points  (29 children)

    Have you listened to the highly educated ruling by the head of the DEA? Marjuana alone has no medical benefits. I feel much safer taking anti depressant that make me want to kill myself instead of pot that makes me want tacos.

    [–][deleted] 41 points42 points  (15 children)

    Its funny because the federal government has its own medical marijuana program, where they've been shipping weed to patients since 1976, yet they (specifically the DEA) still claim there's no medical benefits.

    [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

    And GHB is both schedule I (no accepted medical use) and Schedule III (has a currently accepted medical use).

    [–]wickedren2 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Tacos are a gateway food.

    [–]_Bumble_Bee_Tuna_ 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Tacos, one helluva drug.

    [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (2 children)

    Tacos lead to heart disease.

    [–]Mad_Hatter_Bot 2 points3 points  (1 child)

    What about burritos

    [–]madman24k 1 point2 points  (0 children)

    Unless you're part of the religious devout, and/or republican

    [–]username_00001 44 points45 points  (6 children)

    A little personal marijuana you smoke with friends, sandwich bags in the kitchen cabinet, THIS GUY IS SELLIN!

    [–]Bad_Advice_Cat 67 points68 points  (4 children)

    You have a few grams of pot in your living room and a scale in your bathroom to weigh yourself? INTENT TO SELL

    [–]Eat_The_Muffin 20 points21 points  (0 children)

    No.

    [–][deleted] 37 points38 points  (1 child)

    Look at all this white powder we found in the container labeled "Baby Powder"! This guy is selling coke to babies!

    [–]roxlalonde 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    Whoa a small empty baggy in your pocket? Intent to sell!

    [–]troway77 203 points204 points  (60 children)

    Some schoolboy errors made here. I can only assume the judge recognised the fact that you were so amateurish that there was no way you were a hardened dealer.

    1. Always encrypt all data traffic used to buy drugs online.

    2. Rent at least two mailboxes - one or more for the drugs to be delivered to, and the other, in a seperate location from a seperate mailbox provider, to store the laptop used exclusively for ordering drugs and nothing else. Make your oders on public wifi from a bar or coffee shop etc, a new spot every time. Pay a junkie or homeless person in cash to rent the mailboxes for you so they are not traceable, memorize the mailbox numbers and burn/file off any id numbers physically present on the key. Remember when the rental period expires, and switch up to different providers after each lease is up.

    3. Never use your real name or address when buying drugs.

    4. Never, ever, discuss buying, selling or providing drugs to your friends via text message, email, IM or if at all possible over the phone, although the latter is the least likely to get you busted.

    5. Make the first order, pick it up, then as soon as it is delivered to your mailbox order the next supply. This way you always have a package waiting on you if you need it at short notice. The drugs are not stored at your property, the cops need a warrant to search the mailbox, and as it is not rented in your name they need to sit on it for days or weeks to even have chance of catching you picking the drugs up. If they have somehow managed to intercept the encrypted order, they know where it is being delivered but not who to. They need to spend a fortune staking your mailbox out to catch you, and the chances are they intercepted the order from the dealers end so there will likely be less cautious buyers they can nail a whole lot easier and cheaper.

    6. If you attract any attention from the police, give them zero co-operation till you know for sure, and have been told by a lawyer, that they have you nailed down.

    [–]CursedLlama 146 points147 points  (4 children)

    Brb, gonna go start selling drugs. Thanks reddit!

    [–][deleted]  (3 children)

    [deleted]

      [–]CursedLlama 65 points66 points  (2 children)

      Hah, boy are you right! Also can you bail me out of jail?

      [–]mrd_stuff 2 points3 points  (1 child)

      Sheesh! 6 hours. I feel you tried to live out the BrassEye episode on drugs today.

      [–]CursedLlama 9 points10 points  (0 children)

      Pls help still in jail

      [–]Cixylsyd 94 points95 points  (17 children)

      It's a pretty well known fact that using fake names and addresses is an easy way to get busted, so despite the good intention of your post that's some shit advice that could cause problems for people. Postal inspectors are trained to recognize signs of a falsified name and beyond that a lot of mailmen work the same areas enough that they will recognize a name that seems out of place at an address.

      As long as you have good encryption and keep a clean house, it's going to be a lot easier if push comes to shove to explain why an anonymous package of drugs was mailed to your legit name/address than to explain why you explicitly committed mail fraud to receive felony substances through the mail. Anyone can mail anything to anybody for any reason (maybe you have a vindictive ex trying to get you busted?), thus giving you some form of plausible deniability. Intentionally committing fraud kinda flushes that.

      [–][deleted]  (7 children)

      [deleted]

        [–]skyboy90 12 points13 points  (1 child)

        It's a pretty well known fact that using fake names and addresses is an easy way to get busted,

        I hear this "fact" a lot in Silk Road discussions, but I'm pretty skeptical it's true. It might work in a small town where the postman knows everyone, but it's not practical anywhere with a decent population. People move around a lot, they have friends or family come stay with them, they move in with their partners, they receive deliveries for someone currently abroad, they get a lodger, they put a fake name for a joke. I moved into flat recently, I keep getting mail with all sorts of different names on it which I assume were previous tenants at various points. There are just too many legitimate reasons for mail to have an "out of place" name on it for the postal service to realistically be able to keep track of any of them.

        All that said, I don't think using a fake name would offer much protection anyway. The police would just let the parcel get delivered, and then when it doesn't get reported or handed in, they'll have reasonable suspicion to search the address.

        [–]yawningangel 5 points6 points  (0 children)

        The random mail is pretty common in my town.

        Its fairly transient with lots of renters, at my last place I was getting mail for 5 people who had previously lived there

        [–]troway77 10 points11 points  (1 child)

        There's an entire industry devoted to providing anonymous, untraceable mailboxes for a variety of perfectly reasonable and legitimate business reasons. Yeah, there are risks. Yeah, you might still get caught. But if the cops are on to you and determined to bust you, you aint gonna explain it away by blaming a psycho ex-girlfriend posting unwanted drugs in high quantities to your home address on numerous occasions. There is no plausible deniability when they find a shitload of drugs hidden somewhere in your home.

        You're most likely fucked either way if it gets to the point where the police know who you are and how you are getting illegal stuff delievered through the mail - using a mailbox makes it harder for them to find out who you are though.

        [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (3 children)

        Never use your real name or address when buying drugs.

        this is not ideal for multiple reasons. posting to a fake name but your real address or a post box rented in your name is not only suspicious, but the post office have previously sent back parcels received like this since they believe them to be spam or an honest mistake. having stuff sent to your living place means should the police arrive and question whether you bought it, you can reply with 'nope' and there's no further evidence.

        pretty sure i just got put on a list somewhere

        [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (1 child)

        Even if the police have you nailed down, you still don't provide them with evidence by telling them anything.

        Playing guilty early if you know for sure you're caught can help the outcome a little once you've been charged and have a court date, but helping the police pin a conviction on you does you no good at all.

        Don't do the polices job for them. You wouldn't believe the numbers of people who the police have no real evidence on, who confess and end up with a conviction where they wouldn't have, had they kept their mouth shut.

        No comment, no comment, no comment.

        [–]troway77 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        Exactly. Pleading guilty gets you credit with the judge, not the police. You've got months after being charged and before trial to decide whether or not you want to plead guilty. Maybe you do decide to plead guilty, but no need to rush into it, and no need to make the cops job easy. A good lawyer will be checking everything between being charged and tried to look for a loophole or cut a deal if that kind of thing happens in your country.

        [–]colonelcardiffi 2 points3 points  (2 children)

        Are you from the UK? I once looked into renting a mailbox (for a different purpose) and there's a lot of rigmarole and admin involved that a homeless person just wouldn't be able to deal with.

        [–]troway77 3 points4 points  (0 children)

        Get the paperwork, complete it yourself, then pay somebody else to sign it and physically pay for the mailbox rental.

        [–]badbug13 6 points7 points  (0 children)

        Your corrections concerning his 'schoolboy errors' contains several errors of its own, out of line with standard practice.

        [–]thejadefalcon 116 points117 points  (59 children)

        Well, I'm glad you're off the hook, I'm personally very happy with the idea of all drugs being legal and regulated, I feel that would solve a lot of problems and get the help required for those who need it, but I've got to say

        The judge... ignored a lot of the evidence against me.

        That seems like a pretty shitty judge. Can you clarify this a little? Did he actually ignore the evidence against you or did he simply figure this wasn't worth much of a punishment?

        [–][deleted]  (43 children)

        [deleted]

          [–]thejadefalcon 105 points106 points  (1 child)

          Thank you for that clarification. Now I understand, and that seems completely fair, dismissing stuff as irrelevant rather than ignoring current evidence.

          [–]xxcxcxc 37 points38 points  (0 children)

          No problem

          [–]nessinn 5 points6 points  (22 children)

          I have a question and it may be a bit shitty but why did you use your computer or phone to sell to your friends?

          I would think that if I were planning on selling drugs I would never use any medium which can be traced so directly to me whether it's on the phone or using facebook or whatnot. I have heard of a few cases where the people selling drugs were sending facebook messages to each other in a really basic code about buying them and it always struck me as a bit odd being that careless.

          Did the police discover your code quickly or did you explain it to them when you plead guilty and then they tried to use it in the prosecution?

          [–]Whales96 18 points19 points  (6 children)

          If you tried to sell drugs that way, you wouldn't sell many drugs.

          [–]username_00001 65 points66 points  (3 children)

          The way I do it is carrier pigeons. Very little evidence and reasonably priced drug runners. And they cant be subpoenaed because they dont talk. So far it hasnt been very successful but I'm hopeful they'll get the hang of it. If you see a pigeon with a little bag of cocaine attached to its leg please PM me.

          [–]FlushDaBuffer 2 points3 points  (0 children)

          I'll just leave this here

          [–]purdster83 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          brb gone pid'gin huntin'

          [–]studENTofdayear 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          Me too

          [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

          Ex-drug addict here. This is correct. It's all orchestrated via text, but you don't say, "Hello Mr. Drug Dealer I would like to purchase MDMA." You just ask if they're coming around...they know what you want. It's possible if you don't have a typical dealer/client relationship that they can't just assume you want drugs and they have to spell it out.

          [–]Beznia 13 points14 points  (5 children)

          If "Who got da loud?" is a cryptic question and "Hmu" is a secret response code of sorts, then I think I see secret drug deals on Facebook all the time.

          [–]eatgoodneighborhood 2 points3 points  (4 children)

          I learned recently via my black coworkers that "loud" is pot, at least in the hood. As a white boy from the country, I had never heard this term before. Is this used elsewhere? Or am I just out of the loop and old?

          [–]kbol 2 points3 points  (1 child)

          As a 23-year old, (admittedly non-native) Coloradan, I've never heard that term.

          [–]Beznia 1 point2 points  (0 children)

          Yup this is pretty common everywhere.I have cousins in Chicago and friends in Florida that say that. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio and it's what they say here.

          [–]xxcxcxc 24 points25 points  (6 children)

          I never thought the police would have a reason to look at my messages. I was just sending normal messages discussing it and it was indeed, very stupid.

          [–]SycoJack 8 points9 points  (1 child)

          This is why I never discuss my organ dealing business electronically.

          [–]woodsbre 13 points14 points  (0 children)

          The judge also told op his lawyer was pretty shitty and the prosecution made a bunch or errors. So he couldn't be that shitty.

          [–][deleted]  (12 children)

          [deleted]

            [–]thejadefalcon 9 points10 points  (0 children)

            Exactly. I get that it's a pretty serious leap to make from the current state of affairs and it would need to be a gradual process, but I only really see an overall positive result from it, for individuals and the state. They'd probably pay less healthcare costs, in my opinion. There'd be more drug users, but they'd also be given the help they need before they go too far.

            [–]JohnGillnitz 2 points3 points  (1 child)

            Police department make a ton of money from busts. They can seize any cash, cars, or property suspected to be associated with a crime even if no charges are filed. Further the standard is "preponderance of evidence" rather that "reasonable doubt." Also, you have to pay for your own attorney. Most drug units effectively pay for themselves.

            [–]Samq695 1 point2 points  (0 children)

            that's the problem there's a lot of money coming from police and prison unions lobbying to keep it illegal.

            [–]HULK-SMASH 16 points17 points  (22 children)

            The judge made a call based on my character and ignored a lot of the evidence against me. He reduced the sentence down to 12 months, suspended for 2 years and gave me some community service.

            So how does that work? You get to wander around for a further 2 years and then go to jail?

            What quantities we're you actually caught for? You explained that the drugs were for personal use and for friends meaning it was not for profit. But, hypothetically speaking, if someone had purchased a similar amount of drugs for a "for profit" en-devour, would the amount of bit coins they used actually be more valuable than the drugs they purchased.

            Anyway, make the best of your time in Jail, take advantage of whatever training/rehabilitation programs they have and good luck.

            Edit Thanks for the replies. I now know what a suspended sentence is.

            [–][deleted]  (1 child)

            [deleted]

              [–]yescox 60 points61 points  (2 children)

              Suspended sentence means that if OP commits a crime within the designated time period (2 years), he will go to prison for 12 months for this crime, and whatever penalty is handed down for the further crime.

              [–][deleted] 26 points27 points  (1 child)

              While true, there are other ways to violate a suspended sentence (not completing the conditions of your suspension or paying your fines, usually).

              [–]yescox 5 points6 points  (0 children)

              Correct, I did miss this out by accident. Thanks for the clarification.

              [–]Alcoholic_Synonymous 26 points27 points  (1 child)

              https://www.gov.uk/types-of-prison-sentence/suspended-prison-sentences

              Suspended sentences don't send you anywhere. It's like being on parole - you meet conditions, you stay out of trouble. Unlike parole, there's no crime or trial in breaking a suspended sentence, you just go straight to jail do not pass go.

              [–]tlisia 3 points4 points  (0 children)

              you just go straight to jail do not pass go.

              There are hearings relating to the breaking of suspended sentence conditions. Depending on the breach, judges can simply choose to increase the severity of the order rather than activate a sentence. You might find yourself with a curfew or an extension of the period of suspension, for instance, if you've missed a few probation meetings.

              [–]Femaref 12 points13 points  (0 children)

              So how does that work? You get to wander around for a further 2 years and then go to jail?

              A suspended sentence is a probation period. If you do not break the law in that time frame again, the sentence is dropped.

              [–]jbrba 10 points11 points  (1 child)

              So how does that work? You get to wander around for a further 2 years and then go to jail?

              Don't want to to jump in on the op but no. A suspended sentence means that he has been based on probation, which means that he does not have to go to prison provided that he complies with a required set of criteria for a set period. He will the property return to to court and the sentence will be discharged. However, if he breaks the terms he will be brought back to court and he then faces the prospect of serving the sentence.

              More info here - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspended_sentence.

              Sorry for the lack of a link I am on my mobile.

              [–]htown_swang 2 points3 points  (7 children)

              If it is like America, the suspended sentence period acts as a sort of probation where his jail term gets forgiven if he doesn't fuck up during the 2 year period.

              [–]nsahaze 1 point2 points  (6 children)

              let's say the OP has broken the speed limit one day, and received a fine. This is a criminal offence (right?) but of course, would not receive any jail time for such an offence. Would this call the 12 month suspended sentence into action?

              [–]ziper1221 4 points5 points  (4 children)

              Not a criminal offence. Just an infraction at the worst.

              [–]htown_swang 3 points4 points  (0 children)

              Again, I'm from the US so can't speak to UK laws, but here if it is a drug/drinking offence you need to stay out of that kind of trouble. A simple traffic violation is not "serious" enough.

              I'll use myself as an example, I got a DWI and received a suspended sentence. I'm a pretty upstanding citizen who basically just fucked up. I had to check in with a probation officer every 3 months for two years (this could have included drug testing, but they never opted to test me). As long as I showed up, did my community service, and stayed out of drinking/drug trouble, at the end of the two years it was forgiven.

              Edit: forgot to add, fines lots and lots of fines too. Basically you trade money, time, and freedoms for jail time.

              [–]spotster 1 point2 points  (0 children)

              A suspended sentence is a legal term for a judge's delaying of a defendant's serving of a sentence after they have been found guilty, in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that period, and fulfills the particular conditions of the probation, the judge usually dismisses the sentence.

              from Wikipedia

              [–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (4 children)

              It's England, not the U.S. where you face 25 to life for marijuana possession. Three life sentences if you're black.

              [–]Der_Beschtrafer 20 points21 points  (1 child)

              Did they find your porn stash?

              [–]wmeather 2 points3 points  (0 children)

              Really? I've had packages flagged before, I just claim I know nothing about it. Nobody even shows up, they just send a letter so I can claim it. Gotta love ICE's laziness.

              [–]spacexj 1 point2 points  (2 children)

              you must have been doing it wrong, you obviously knew enough about using TOR but did you know about tails? or dark wallet/coin joining shit?

              if you did was it just been lazy?

              [–]theytookourjaabs 480 points481 points  (192 children)

              What was the quality of the drugs like? I heard importing from Silk Road almost ensured really good quality when compared with what you'd get from a dealer.

              [–]xxcxcxc 705 points706 points  (190 children)

              It was always good quality. Some times a bit too good quality.

              [–]that_is_so_Raven 224 points225 points  (189 children)

              Speaking out of total ignorance, care to elaborate on "too good quality?"

              [–]GoogaNautGod 1175 points1176 points  (33 children)

              I'd imagine he's saying shit was dope as fuck

              [–]indn 304 points305 points  (17 children)

              "Shit is tight"

              "shit is the bomb"

              "shit be raw"

              "shit be real"

              and so on...

              [–]HitchSlap92 123 points124 points  (12 children)

              Aka, Dank.

              [–][deleted] 39 points40 points  (0 children)

              aka, da good good

              [–]chancrescolex 113 points114 points  (9 children)

              Bomb-ass dank-ass purp skurp

              [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

              Catapolonic dude, from down up north, off the 1-5

              [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

              This is for you, my friend: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJspVE355Do

              [–]EvrythingISayIsRight 1 point2 points  (0 children)

              From down... up north.

              [–]I_Am_JesusChrist_AMA 1 point2 points  (2 children)

              I got a new bong.. python brand hand blown glass blown. let me go find it and then we'll box hot.

              [–]WhiskeyMountainWay 2 points3 points  (1 child)

              "Get some nug-nug in dere, crystallize, woooooo! Dat IS some bombassdankass."

              [–]jbg89 25 points26 points  (1 child)

              Dopest dope I ever smoked.

              [–]YGSOUL 1 point2 points  (0 children)

              ALL HE SMOKE IS LOUD

              [–]xxcxcxc 425 points426 points  (115 children)

              The MDMA that I received was always from the same presser. They pressed the Q-dance, Defqon, Partyflock and Mortal Kombats. There pills are notorious for being very high dosage but also to sometimes not contain the right synth to get the typical loved up MDMA feeling. So sometimes they would just destroy you and leave you sat on a couch with your eyes closed for hours...

              [–]qtx 149 points150 points  (7 children)

              It ain't much if it ain't Dutch.

              [–]DeHofnar 5 points6 points  (3 children)

              Dutch guy here, can confirm.

              [–]mirror_egami 2 points3 points  (2 children)

              Those dutchies!! Oh wait... I'm dutch :O.. Better smoke some w-

              [–][deleted] 49 points50 points  (40 children)

              That's fun too though. Just not if you have shit you need to do. :)

              [–]helpmeplzzzzzz 202 points203 points  (21 children)

              Why would you take molly in the first place if you had shit to do?

              [–][deleted]  (7 children)

              [deleted]

                [–]jerimiahhalls 13 points14 points  (1 child)

                Ah the fabled come up dump.

                [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                AKA the disco dump.

                [–]bobber310 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                Best. Shit. Ever.

                [–]H-Resin 7 points8 points  (1 child)

                If you're at a festival or concert, for example.... best not to be passed out in the corner

                [–]Monkeychimp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                Maybe he's a professional hugger.

                [–]FootofGod 38 points39 points  (15 children)

                Probably shouldn't pick a busy night with commitments to do MDMA in the first place. So hopefully it's a thing that takes care of itself. When my grandmother did psychedelics, she always made sure to have the whole day and next morning clear.

                [–]chainer3000[🍰] 4 points5 points  (1 child)

                That's even worse then saying SWIM. You sure it wasn't your hamster?

                [–]FootofGod 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                My grandmother was a hampster.

                [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (12 children)

                You've got a cool grandmother hehe

                When I say 'shit to do' though, I meant even going out clubbing. Some of those 'smashed out of your face' pills are a bit much when you need to go clubbing.

                Says the guy who used to do between 10 and 15 Mitsubishi pills per weekend.

                [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (8 children)

                Tell me more about the mortal kombats. They were ones that made the news about 'killing' some underaged kid.

                [–]xxcxcxc 21 points22 points  (6 children)

                I never took them but they were from the same presser. I'm not sure if they were adulterated, faked or if the death was related to something else i.e. Leah Betts

                [–]FriendFoundMyAccount 15 points16 points  (3 children)

                She died from water intoxication. It wasn't the MDMA

                [–]HojMcFoj 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                That would be why she is his example of "death from something else"

                [–]EatMyBiscuits 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                That's what he said.

                [–]MrSeanyB 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                What are your thoughts on nintendo all stars?

                [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (44 children)

                You sold a lot of pills and still you believe this myth? Mdma is mdma, that's it. Pills can contain other substances and affect the typical mdma feeling but that's not the case with the ones you mention. The only reason some people may not enjoy them is simply because they are very high dosed. If you are used to 80mg pills and take a 200mg pill without realising it, you may feel overwhelmed. Also, when taking mdma a very small percentage will turn into mda in your body, which has a different effect (including hallucinations even), so when you are taking these high doseage pills that may also have some effect. But that's it, there are no different synths with different effects. It's basic science.

                [–]xxcxcxc 59 points60 points  (29 children)

                So the information about anethole and safrole synths are bullshit? I don't know to be honest. I know that it's a sweet spot for dosage based on your weight and if you go over it can have a variety of effects on the roll.

                I've had better times on less potent pills so I obviously believe that sometimes less is more.

                [–]wheezylemonsqueezy 10 points11 points  (0 children)

                You shouldn't have been downvoted so much. Everything you say is right.

                Ideally pills should contain MDMA as the sole active ingredient, however it's very easy to get away with cutting pills with methylone or other methylated amphetamines (MDMA is a methylated amphetamine) or even using methamphetamine because it's very cheap and gives a very powerful stimulating effect, which would cause an inexperienced user to think they are very high quality.

                Many of the dutch pills on SR (most actually) were dosed incredibly high. An ideal dose should be 100-110mg of MDMA, and the lowest dose dutch pills available from the big guys were 120mg (green question marks), most were 180mg-220mg, and some even went as high as 300mg! (the skulls were 300)

                Many people aren't aware, but MDMA is slightly hallucinogenic (in that you get visual distortions similar to other psychedelics, particularly the phenethylamine psychedelic compunds) and it is evident in 160mg+ doses and very evident when you get above 200mg.

                All MDMA is MDMA; different synths won't have different effects (so long as dosage and purity are equal) unless they contain other active ingredients.

                MDMA is synthesized from MDA (another methylated amphetamine, that IMHO is much more fun) and the goal of the synthesis is to convert all of the MDA into 84% MDMA (84% being the highest possible purity). However, the cooks often cannot convert all of the MDA, and leave some MDA behind in the MDMA which is why it has a often has brownish color or tint. It's certainly not a bad thing if there is a little unconverted MDA in your MDMA (I would actually prefer extra MDA), however some people are purists and only want the straight stuff.

                Source: read PiHKAL, and browsed SR a good amount; however, I never bought anything. was too scared to

                [–]Deedzz 5 points6 points  (4 children)

                [–]DaddyPleaseNo 4 points5 points  (3 children)

                People downvoting cause they're mad they're doing meth. Denial is a hell of a drug.

                [–]captain_wiggles_ 21 points22 points  (16 children)

                Say you were used to taking x miligrams of something, that was 50% pure. You know what it does. If you get something that 20% pure and you take the same amount it doesn't do much. However if you get something that is 90% / 100% pure and take the same as normal you will effectively be twice as high. This could be quite distressing.

                I have heard that cocaine is particularly susceptible to this, as it's so incredibly impure by the time it hits the street, and is quite dangerous in large quantities.

                My experience of this is through festival welfare, and you get a surprising number of people who have just been caught off guard with something stronger than normal. This is why if you take drugs, be sensible and when you get a new batch of something always take a small amount first and see what it does. Also talking to the people you buy it from (assuming you trust them).

                Just to clarify, I don't use drugs, but I have had a fair bit of exposure to those who do.

                [–]ButtFartMcPoopus 4 points5 points  (3 children)

                Sure you don't, Captain Wiggles.

                [–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

                Captain Eye Wiggles more like.

                [–]Wicked81 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                That, my friend, is how people overdose.

                [–]WeenisWrinkle 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                Yeah. Overdoses are sometimes lethal.

                [–][deleted] 78 points79 points  (21 children)

                How many times, prior to you being caught, had you received packages?

                [–]xxcxcxc 124 points125 points  (20 children)

                Numerous is all I want to say really :)

                [–][deleted] 33 points34 points  (8 children)

                what do you think made this package different from the others that caused it to get flagged? Since frequency wasn't the issue.

                When you successfully received packages prior, did you ever think, damn I wish they would have been more careful?

                [–][deleted]  (7 children)

                [deleted]

                  [–][deleted] 18 points19 points  (0 children)

                  Thank you for answering my questions. Best of luck in the future.

                  [–]j1mb0b 2 points3 points  (3 children)

                  So, er, just for interest... Where should I get my specialist online purchases delivered to?

                  Is using a PO box an amateur mistake?

                  [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                  Yes.

                  [–]aesu 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                  Why didn't you encrypt all your data/use an offsite computer to obfuscate your involvement?

                  [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (9 children)

                  Are you sure your in the clear to be posting this. Don't want you to end up in more trouble.

                  [–]xxcxcxc 5 points6 points  (8 children)

                  No idea. Everything I have said in the thread has came out in court and I have been punished for it. So I don't think they can charge me again for something I have already admitted?

                  [–]NutellaOnYourPatella 109 points110 points  (33 children)

                  Was it relatively easy to import drugs into the UK?

                  [–]xxcxcxc 281 points282 points  (30 children)

                  I think a 12 year old could do it on a Mac Mini by watching a couple of Youtube videos... so yeah :P

                  [–]ctindel 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                  12 year olds can get serious enough money to mail order drugs in bitcoins? I mean I gotta imagine that SR dealers are not sending a single $10 pill or a dime bag of weed.

                  [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                  They actually do.

                  [–]Esscocia 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                  I used to order weed from a site called 'dutchgreenclub' and I don't really understand your question, it's simply a matter of knowing the website exists, not easy mind you. Dutchgreenclub didn't exist on the deepweb but you had to have an invite from an already registered member. All you did was order from a selection of bud and hash online, send your money in an envelope, and they send you the product. It was magnificent having Amsterdam bud and hash drop through my door every month. Website doesn't exist now though.

                  This was 5 years ago, I think perhaps authorities are more tuned in to this kind of thing now. No one had a fucking clue back then.

                  [–]Major_Fudgemuffin 150 points151 points  (244 children)

                  How did you end up getting caught?

                  I saw that you shipped to your own house, what do you think about that decision nowadays?

                  [–]xxcxcxc 224 points225 points  (243 children)

                  See below for how I got caught :)

                  I wouldn't never go back to ordering from the deep web. But it's a double edged sword ordering to your address because if you don't, the package could be scrutinized if the address/name isn't legit. But if you order to your house and it gets seized, expect more than a letter from customs.

                  [–]subjectWarlock 111 points112 points  (241 children)

                  why didn't you just pretend you hadn't ordered anything and that some stranger was just sending you something? why did you let the police search your home? it doesn't make sense.

                  [–]xxcxcxc 205 points206 points  (224 children)

                  I didn't want to seem guilty so I let them enter my house. They arrested me immediately and began searching and confiscated my items :)

                  [–]chatham_solar 77 points78 points  (165 children)

                  I hate to ask you hypothetical questions, but do you think if you had refused them entry you would have been able to wipe you hard drives and perhaps avoid incriminating yourself so much? Can you detail what kind of evidence they were able to secure from your computer?

                  [–]xxcxcxc 80 points81 points  (161 children)

                  I believe they would've found out I had a phone contract and accessed my phone text records regardless. But I could've possibly wiped any link to my facebook account and hid my phone and maybe they would've never checked. I'm not sure.

                  [–][deleted] 144 points145 points  (119 children)

                  So basically you're saying that you were

                  • using unencrypted communication

                  • having unencrypted harddrives with incriminating evidence

                  • Letting in the police into your house (I'm assuming from the way you said it, that they didn't have a warrant?) while there's incriminating evidence lying around?

                  If I were ordering drugs on the internet (which I would never do) I'd be much more optimistic now than I would have been when I started reading this AMA.

                  [–]Libby1798 51 points52 points  (47 children)

                  In the UK, the police doesn't always have to have a warrant for a search, just reason.

                  [–]CodeJack 31 points32 points  (43 children)

                  You have to decrypt your stuff too or face time. One way of doing this is having a dual key system though. So one key reveals your real stuff, the other reveals so more innocent stuff. This being put very simply.

                  [–]milkier 10 points11 points  (24 children)

                  It's more than dual key, it's "hidden volume" encryption that gives you plausible deniability. It's not trivial to do this with off-the-shelf tools. Truecrypt was the only widely available software that can do this, and now TC is "dead" (authors abandoned it).

                  [–]xxcxcxc 35 points36 points  (59 children)

                  I'm not sure if they had a warrant, it was never mentioned.

                  [–]Dwood15 52 points53 points  (52 children)

                  That's a problem. In the future, don't let them in your home without one.

                  [–]MaxMouseOCX 51 points52 points  (40 children)

                  In the UK the police can enter your home if they have reasonable suspicion... A warrant isn't always required.

                  Things work differently in the UK, generally, if the police come to your door, you fucking let them in.

                  [–]Done_with_It123 3 points4 points  (2 children)

                  lol, doesnt matter, he already let them in

                  [–]bsnimunf 24 points25 points  (17 children)

                  Did you have evidence on Facebook? Now that does seem at little silly.

                  [–]Jenzo45 46 points47 points  (15 children)

                  Facebook messaging friends about partying, and having mention of the drugs in those conversations doesn't seem like it would be that uncommon though.

                  [–]noodlesdefyyou 279 points280 points  (43 children)

                  No, seriously, thats like Online ordering 101. Buying something questionable? When you get it, mark RTS on it and toss it aside. If asked, explain you don't know what it is and allow them to take it (indicate you had written RTS on it, but had not gotten around to taking it back to the post office yet). You're out an order, but no conviction.

                  If after a week or so nobody has bothered you about it, it's yours. Letting them in like that was just plain fucking stupid.

                  [–]xxcxcxc 218 points219 points  (17 children)

                  I understand that now :') But the moment when I saw 3 plain clothes police officers knocking at the door I was in a bit of shock :P

                  [–][deleted] 291 points292 points  (10 children)

                  You might be getting flak* for that, but that just sounds like a pretty realistic reaction. We can act hard and professional on the internet all we want, but I'd probably get scared shirtless if some cops just showed up at my house after I did something illegal.. wouldn't think straight.

                  Anyway, I hope you're doing well for yourself now and don't end up arrested for anything again. Good luck out there!

                  [–]xxcxcxc 44 points45 points  (0 children)

                  Thanks!

                  [–]chigonzo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                  TIL removing one's shirt is an acceptable response when frightened.

                  [–]StevieKicks 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                  Is being scared shirtless worse than being scared shitless. It actually sounds worse.

                  [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                  Maybe.

                  But It's almost as bad as being scared shortsless, which may involve further public humiliation on top of your original stressor.

                  [–]aesu 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                  I haven't ever ordered anything from silk road, but I already have a comprehensive plan to avoid being caught. I'm quite neurotic, though. Likely too much so to actually ever order anything.

                  [–]something867435 7 points8 points  (1 child)

                  DANGER DANGER! Do not try this in the US, you will still be guilty!

                  Possession is a "strict liability" crime. The prosecution does not have to prove mens rea, or a guilty mind, I.e. that you knew what you were doing and set out to commit a crime. All they have to prove is that you were in possession of something illegal.

                  Yes, this means that if a cartel hid something in your car unbeknownst to you, you would be the one in trouble at the border, something that does happen.

                  Source : http://sixthformlaw.info/01_modules/mod3a/3_10_principles/16_principles_strict_liability.htm

                  [–]greyjackal 27 points28 points  (16 children)

                  That doesn't fly.

                  If you genuinely hadn't ordered something, you'd open it up to find out what someone's sent you.

                  Then you discover it's drugs, and you should be calling the police.

                  [–]noodlesdefyyou 52 points53 points  (2 children)

                  It's still a better method than just letting cops straight in to your house.

                  I mean, without opening it, you still have 'plausible deniability'.

                  [–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

                  Even with opening you have plausible deniablity unless you open it and start smoking it...

                  [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                  Without opening it, it could have an RFID tag, GPS, etc. added in that you don't know about. Plus, it's still in your possession no matter what you write on it. Otherwise people could just be driving around with kilos of cocaine with "Give to the police" written on them and be 100% in the clear. If you open it and there's no tracking, then you can trash the package and stash the gear (elsewhere).

                  [–]Quotes_In_Context 19 points20 points  (2 children)

                  Why wouldn't it fly, logically speaking? The prosecution has to prove you ordered them. You could have just thought, "Hey, this package is suspicious. Maybe it's something dangerous; I don't want to open it. I'll mark it 'return to sender' and drop it off at the post office when I get the chance."

                  Suspicious? Yeah, of course. But the burden of proof is on the prosecution and they can't prove anything in a case like that. Is there any law out there that obligates a private citizen to immediately open a suspicious package upon receiving it?

                  No, of course not.

                  [–]StewieNZ 4 points5 points  (3 children)

                  What if you got it sent to a fake name but correct address, then it would be believable you didn't open it?

                  [–]-banana 1 point2 points  (2 children)

                  Probably increases the chances of it getting flagged, though.

                  [–]gabrielcrim 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                  I've never had my real name on a package just for the giggles of using random names. I don't think they've ever been flagged for anything.

                  [–]79357423 2 points3 points  (3 children)

                  Opening others mail is a crime is most countries. Opening would also suggest it was for you all along, otherwise you would not of opened it. Don't listen to this idiot.

                  [–]greyjackal 4 points5 points  (1 child)

                  It was addressed to him. I don't know about you, but if I receive unexpected mail (which is most of it), I open the damn thing.

                  [–]aerokopf 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                  And that's how you get blown up by the Unabomber.

                  [–]ndstumme 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                  If it has his name on it, then by that law it was 'his mail' so he's legally allowed to open it. Whether he was expecting or wanted it is a different question, but he's sure as hell allowed to open it.

                  [–]doogie88 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                  Exactly. This is an old trick from about 20 years ago. It doesn't hold up. But as OP replied, yeah it's better than just letting them come in lol.

                  [–]munchies777 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                  Another thing to be aware of are controlled deliveries. If you order something small that doesn't require a signature, it should go in your mailbox. If some guy that isn't your mailman comes to the door to deliver it, decline it. If it was legit, it would have gone in the mailbox like the rest of your mail. If you are ordering so much blow that it can't fit in your mailbox, you should probably put more effort into what you are doing and not have it shipped to your house.

                  [–][deleted] 102 points103 points  (7 children)

                  im gonna have to say, reading your AMA you were a terrible drug dealer. no wonder you got caught.

                  [–]xxcxcxc 88 points89 points  (4 children)

                  Yeah I'm sure I was :')

                  I feel really stupid for even trying to get away with it!

                  [–]W0MaNiZ3R 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                  He wasn't a drug lord, he was just selling some shit to friends. No need to be mean.

                  [–]scaryblackguy 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                  the way you add happy emoticons after answering serious questions, cracks me up.

                  "they came in, beat me senseless, and took all my money! :P"

                  [–][deleted]  (3 children)

                  [deleted]

                    [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

                    yeah grow up and embrace being a convicted felon for a victimless crime OP

                    [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                    Embracing isn't exactly the same as facing.

                    [–]Mista_Wong 3 points4 points  (11 children)

                    Why did he let the police search his home? You don't let them, they can do it with a warrant. And he said that they found evidence against him when he had his devices seized. So if he lied and they went through with the search he'd be in a bad position

                    [–]threetrey 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                    If anybody reading this thread gets the idea to delve into the darknet please do your research. If OP were to follow basic rules and security he would never have been charged/convicted. I'm not saying you deserved this happening to you or anything but maybe if you could stress the importance of maybe running tor thru tails off a USB, encrypting all messages using PGP, tumbleing BTC, ect ect. This is just scratching the surface so do your due dilagence if you want to stay outta jail.

                    [–][deleted]  (29 children)

                    [deleted]

                      [–]OwnedTom 188 points189 points  (63 children)

                      How do you feel about the controversies around Silk Road and other Online Black Marketplaces involving bitcoins being stolen by staff of the sites?

                      [–]_shakta 172 points173 points  (17 children)

                      Just FYI Silk Road 2.0 have now actually paid back 100% of all the money that was stolen from users, considering the anonymity of the whole system in that they could take it all and run, that's pretty amazing tbh.

                      More info/statement on the SR mainpage.

                      [–]arkadian 20 points21 points  (7 children)

                      seriously? brb checking my account

                      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                      Well?

                      [–]arkadian 10 points11 points  (0 children)

                      I still have a pending balance of -£90 and that doesn't take into account the negative balance of 0.17btc I was owed before balances were reset. I've neglected the account thinking I wont get my money, but I may chase this up with support and on the forums.

                      [–]LOSTBOY580 2 points3 points  (2 children)

                      Would you happen to know the current address of SR 2.0? I'm "working" on a reaserch paper and this information would be greatly appreciated.

                      [–]Baghdadification 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                      People need to watch out, that's how ponzi schemes work.

                      [–]xxcxcxc 266 points267 points  (41 children)

                      If you read this article it'll give some insight into my opinion as I agree with some of his quotes and ideals...

                      http://www.forbes.com/sites/ryanmac/2013/10/02/who-is-ross-ulbricht-piecing-together-the-life-of-the-alleged-libertarian-mastermind-behind-silk-road/

                      I believe the Silk Road for example wasn't just built to make profit. It was created out of an ideal and philosophy that really does speak to me. So if these staff members were stealing money etc it destroys the message and just makes the whole thing about greed. It makes me kinda ashamed that everyone is so greedy I guess.

                      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (12 children)

                      Although on paper the operator of SR sounds good, wasn't there something about them having ties to sex trafficking or slavery or something?

                      [–][deleted]  (10 children)

                      [deleted]

                        [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (4 children)

                        Oh yeah I know SR itself had been limited strictly to drugs, but wasn't there something pretty shady the owner was into outside SR? I mean, I'm pretty sure I heard about it hear on reddit, so I guess it's not unlikely it's totally untrue.

                        [–][deleted] 57 points58 points  (2 children)

                        My friend says that sr2 paid him back all the money that was taken.

                        That's pretty amazing.

                        [–]Ballpit_Inspector 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                        What makes it more amazing is that all the money was paid back from commission on orders. Which means that the volume of sales must have grown incredibly recently.

                        [–]sourgraped 508 points509 points  (21 children)

                        Well, did you at least put "import/export experience" on your resume?

                        [–]FranklinDelanoB 295 points296 points  (20 children)

                        Like Art Vandelay.

                        [–]blind2haters 83 points84 points  (9 children)

                        He should really focus more on the importing than the exporting.

                        [–]FrankyFortress 41 points42 points  (6 children)

                        or was it the exporting?

                        [–]pythium 26 points27 points  (4 children)

                        matches

                        [–]meatspinchampion 11 points12 points  (0 children)

                        Long matches.

                        [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                        And chips.

                        [–]jceyes 33 points34 points  (2 children)

                        Wait... Wasn't he an architect?

                        [–]sourgraped 40 points41 points  (1 child)

                        He deals in latex.

                        [–]duxdude418 17 points18 points  (0 children)

                        And you want to be my latex salesman...

                        [–]redbarn 19 points20 points  (1 child)

                        Importer Exporter of fine latex goods.

                        [–]Pennypacking 7 points8 points  (0 children)

                        and a side business in Architecture & Marine Biology

                        [–]My_Other_Car_is_Cats 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                        And you want to be my latex salesman.

                        [–]Oprahwinfreysminge 32 points33 points  (11 children)

                        Did the person who sent them to you get caught too?

                        [–]xxcxcxc 41 points42 points  (6 children)

                        No idea

                        [–]69Bandit 8 points9 points  (5 children)

                        He most likely did get caught, which led to your package being flagged.

                        [–]v2subzero 5 points6 points  (2 children)

                        I really doubt that, the package probably had no return address and he probably used proper encryption and other security measures. My guess is it was a random search or something simmilar that got OP caught.

                        [–]dbavaria 1 point2 points  (2 children)

                        What keeps the authorities from setting up sting operations on silk road?

                        [–]josephalbright1 118 points119 points  (40 children)

                        Did you ship to your house or a safe location?

                        [–]xxcxcxc 299 points300 points  (32 children)

                        I shipped to my house, yes. With a parent living here with me also.

                        [–][deleted] 1219 points1220 points  (15 children)

                        insanity wolf

                        [–]AvonBarksdale86 6 points7 points  (8 children)

                        Did you use your name or an alias?

                        [–]smoovegroove22 5 points6 points  (3 children)

                        Used the alias of Avon Barksdale

                        [–]aborted_bubble 1 point2 points  (2 children)

                        I bet Omar tipped them off.

                        [–]Itelljokesformoney 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                        Not really, it's actually pretty common. Everyone I know who used the Silk Road in the US got shipped straight to their houses.

                        [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (1 child)

                        Heisenberg you are not.

                        [–]666uptheirons 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                        While Heisenburg was indeed a great cook, he was a TERRIBLE drug dealer. He murdered the people who sold his drugs....

                        [–]seaowl 7 points8 points  (6 children)

                        Just putting this here: http://www.maildropguide.com/

                        *edit: if it wasn't clear from the site itself this is a directory of mail forwarding, mailboxes and remailing services. which means companies receiving the packages for you. which means you not giving your address.

                        [–]josephalbright1 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                        that's pretty cool, but how do i know it's safe? you know, so the cops don't mess with my chocolate cakes.

                        [–]clem145 28 points29 points  (8 children)

                        What did you buy, and how much did you order?

                        [–][deleted]  (7 children)

                        [deleted]

                          [–]penthousedizzle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                          Do you think having ordered so much makes customs way more suspicious?

                          [–]xsarsmaskx 42 points43 points  (63 children)

                          What do you use now?

                          [–]xxcxcxc 78 points79 points  (62 children)

                          If you mean to buy drugs, I get them off friends but only rarely these days.

                          If you mean which drugs, just MDMA.

                          [–]Y3808 97 points98 points  (61 children)

                          Uhhh...you really wanna admit to that after you got a suspended sentence with a laundry list of restrictions, one of which surely is not to buy or sell any more controlled substances?

                          [–]xxcxcxc 213 points214 points  (54 children)

                          When I left court the judge said to me that next time I am out and I am offered a pill, to make my own decision. He told me that no one could stop me taking drugs and making my own decisions but just know that taking drugs got me here in the first place and it can lead down this road again.

                          I have cut down and plan to quit in the future.

                          [–]BrainDamageLDN 311 points312 points  (16 children)

                          This judge sounds like he's got his head screwed on.

                          [–]chatham_solar 16 points17 points  (6 children)

                          I think drug use is much more tolerated in UK courts than in the US, assuming you are white and well spoken. Particularly if you are in full time higher education. I know of someone at my university who was raided in the middle of the night, caught with large amounts of weed and ketamine (class B here) and £900 on cash. Ended up getting a two year suspended sentence as they made a good impression on the judge for being a high achieving law student with no prior record and playing the "fell in with the wrong crowd" card.

                          [–]MaxMouseOCX 4 points5 points  (2 children)

                          I'm not sure skin colour matters much in the UK when facing a judge, as long as you're well spoken and can speak the English language fluently they tend to take things marginally easier on you.

                          [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                          Not sure. My friend (white) was dating a black guy, who was charged with sexual assault. Pleaded guilty, but she stood by him and went to court for sentencing as did rest of her family - his lawyer said 'Oh, I'm glad you guys showed - it gives him respectability'. Obviously paraphrasing, but that's the gist. Still some entrenched racism.

                          [–]MaxMouseOCX 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                          Hmm... He may have been being slightly racist there, or he may have simply been implying that having significant others there for support rather than him standing in the dock alone gives him respectability.

                          Either way, I see your point and I agree, the only way there will be zero racism is in countless generations when we're all a light coffee colour, when there are no white people, no black people... It'll stop. That's if you sign up to the theory that eventually all races will amalgamate through breeding.

                          [–][deleted] 47 points48 points  (7 children)

                          He's a judge. He's kinda supposed to have his head screwed on. :)

                          [–]BrainDamageLDN 67 points68 points  (4 children)

                          You'd be surprised...

                          [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                          You just hear about the bad ones, but I'm betting that the majority of them are alright. Kind of like cops, or religious people.

                          [–]gsfgf 14 points15 points  (27 children)

                          The judge was telling you to make better decisions. He was not telling you that it's ok to do drugs. You've posted more than enough in here to land you in jail.

                          [–]xxcxcxc 36 points37 points  (26 children)

                          Do you think what I have posted here could land me in jail? How so? I have been charged and convicted of what I did wrong with ALL the facts coming out. Are they going to charge me again for the same things? If I hypothetically murdered someone and got sent to prison, when I get out if I speak about it do I get charged again?

                          [–]gsfgf 16 points17 points  (14 children)

                          Your suspended sentence has conditions, violation of which turn it into an actual sentence. Those conditions are usually pretty strict, and almost certainly include not taking or possessing drugs. And the burden of proof in probation revocation is lower than for a conviction. Going online and saying you still do drugs could very well be enough on its own to revoke your probation. I don't know the details of your situation or UK law, but I do know you don't want to find out.

                          [–]fosiacat 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                          seriously tho. a judge saying "if someone offers you something... use your best judgement" doesn't mean you have the green light to do drugs. hes politely telling you that if you decide to take drugs, youre going to end up in the box.

                          [–]xxcxcxc 8 points9 points  (12 children)

                          There was a drug rehabilitation order and a supervision order but the judge declined them both saying they were unnecessary. I am not being supervised. I do not have to report to a probation officer. I have no drug rehab orders to attend. I just have to do my community service hours and not break the law. I am not intending to break the law.

                          [–]gsfgf 9 points10 points  (11 children)

                          I am not intending to break the law.

                          You're admitting to (and basically bragging about) still breaking the law. That's a good way to piss off a judge who just cut you a huge break.

                          [–]wufnu 3 points4 points  (8 children)

                          Yah but doing drugs AFTER your trial is a whole new set of crimes. I'd... not do that or talk about it.

                          [–]xxcxcxc 25 points26 points  (7 children)

                          Taking drugs isn't a crime. Possession is.

                          [–]dickdrizzle 4 points5 points  (2 children)

                          You're on a suspended sentence, aka probation. Which means, they don't need actual crimes to send you away, they just need violations of your terms to revoke you. So yeah, if they check your computer, which you may have signed an agreement to let them do, you're fucked.

                          [–]RazTehWaz 22 points23 points  (4 children)

                          He lives in the Wirral. It's fucking grim there, nowt else to do.

                          [–][deleted]  (54 children)

                          [deleted]

                            [–]xxcxcxc 195 points196 points  (42 children)

                            I was pretty lucky in court. The judge assigned to my case was exceptionally lenient and made a speech about how I was a young person who had made mistakes but deserved a second chance.

                            I also pleaded guilty to importation and intent to supply at the earliest point in the case which gave me full credit.

                            Although the sentencing guidelines for what I was accused of was at least 4-6 years custody.

                            [–]mjkelly462 88 points89 points  (23 children)

                            I had a very reasonable federal judge for my drug trial 10 years ago here in the U.S.

                            The prosecution took over 3 years to sentence me from the time that i pled guilty and the judge thought that should count towards my sentence.

                            There are always stories on reddit about judges making awful decisions but there are good judges out there making the same amount, if not more, great decisions.

                            [–]JenniferJ323 17 points18 points  (11 children)

                            3 years? What the hell ever happened to the right to a speedy trial? What were they doing all that time?

                            [–][deleted] 29 points30 points  (5 children)

                            3 years to sentence, not to try. It sounds like he already had his speedy trial.

                            [–]JenniferJ323 6 points7 points  (1 child)

                            But, isn't the sentencing part of the trial? Am I missing something here?

                            [–][deleted] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

                            No, sentencing comes after the trial.

                            [–]Leprecon 6 points7 points  (1 child)

                            Just FYI, you don't always want to exercise that right. Having a speedy trial isn't always something in your favor.

                            [–]SheeEttin 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                            Sometimes you have to invoke it. But you may not want to.

                            [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                            You must face trialI believe within 270 days billable to the state.

                            That means time you didnt ask for breaks or delays. Mutually agreed discovery periods and periods for testing whereby both parties agree do not count to either side.

                            [–]mjkelly462 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                            Signed that right away with part of the negotiation.

                            There was a codefendent, who i didnt even know, who was facing way more serious charges and was delaying his trial by any means necessary. He kept changing venues and lawyer and everything for years pushing it back. Finally, he copped a plea when they wouldnt delay anymore. They wouldn't sentence me until his trial was adjudicated.

                            I didnt even find out why they kept continuing it until after he pled guilty. They would just call my lawyer every 90 days and say they were pushing it back again for 3 years. It really sucks living your life 90 days at a time knowing you are heading to federal prison one of those times.

                            [–]docdoogan 2 points3 points  (5 children)

                            I agree; I work as a CD clinician (drug rehab counselor) in the U.S. and work pretty closely with various criminal justice programs for promoting rehabilitation instead of doing your bullet and going right back to past behaviors. There seems to be a bit more of a push towards drug related offenders being given an opportunity to change in lieu of prison/jail time.

                            [–]mjkelly462 1 point2 points  (4 children)

                            Right. Drug addicts aren't criminals. Addiction is an illness.

                            Plus the prisons are way overcrowded with nonviolent drug traffickers. Its insane the sentences they hand down for a bag full of powder or a basement full of pot plants.

                            [–]sirgallium 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                            A lot of judges are reasonable and make good sentences the problem is the 3 strikes policy and mandatory minimum sentencing which takes the judges' power away from them. I've read stories of judges quitting and not believing the sentences they were forced to give.

                            [–]mjkelly462 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                            Yeah i cant agree more. Mandatory minimums are a disaster.

                            [–]xxcxcxc 84 points85 points  (8 children)

                            Sorry I forgot to reply to the second question; I don't fully understand why you asked it but no, I love my home town.

                            [–]SnapMokies 75 points76 points  (7 children)

                            It's a reference to the countries you know nothing about thread from yesterday. The fun fact for greenland is that it has the highest suicide rate.

                            [–]PichinchaV 154 points155 points  (101 children)

                            Do you think that the Silk Road helped decrease the violence associated with the drug trade by helping people avoid face-to-face meetings with drug dealers?

                            [–]xxcxcxc 288 points289 points  (28 children)

                            I dealt with MDMA only and as you probably know the drug money/gang violence etc surrounding MDMA is extremely low compared to Heroin, Cocaine and Cannabis in the UK.

                            But from what I have read and from my general experiences I think it was helping to decrease it.

                            In the UK, most drugs are controlled by gangs and violent criminals so when they have less business because some dutch guy is in his house, weighing up bags of cocaine and sending them to the UK through the mail; then obviously there's less money going into the hands of the street dealers and gangs. But I can't say for sure whether the money isn't eventually funnelling into organized crime etc...

                            [–][deleted]  (13 children)

                            [deleted]

                              [–]mcymo 35 points36 points  (10 children)

                              I think branding drugs as cause for crime is criminally false, the profit margins with the low barrier of entry is what causes the violence, because the market has become valuable and the market shares determine how much you get and territory is what that translates to which leads to turf wars. You can substitute any drug with anchovy. If there's the same profit margin and the same craving for anchovy as for drugs, you'd have the same situation. People kill for money, not drugs and the only way that his has even become possible is by outlawing them, even though there's ample precedence with the prohibition in the U.S.. People started to kill for alcohol and mafia bosses got rich. But drugs are every LEA's bread and butter, which the somehow manage to never have emerge in the public discourse.

                              [–]neurosoupxxlol 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                              Though violence may be rare in the cannabis trade in California, it certainly does happen. A guy from my hometown moved to Mendo county to grow, and everything was fine and dandy for a time. One night some crop rippers came and shot him in the spine. He is now paralyzed from the waist down. This was about ~10 years ago afaik.

                              [–]Pennypacking 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                              All of your answers so far seem very well thought out, thanks.

                              [–]SardonicNihilist 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                              ..and eventually legitimate businesses, investment funds, property developments and political 'donations'.

                              [–]GreasyPeanut 96 points97 points  (70 children)

                              It would definitely help where I'm from, Northern Ireland. The paramilitaries here are known to forcibly make you join them. You buy from them a few times and you begin to trust them. Then you go to buy off them for the fifth or so time and they charge you some ridiculously high price. Either you hand them the few hundred you brought to buy a gram of weed, you get your arms broken or you swear an oath and join them. From here on out you have to pay them anywhere between a few hundred and a few thousand a month for having the privilege of being in a paramilitary. Then when they want you to riot or protest, you have to. Failure to pay your taxes or joining in a riot is a kneecapping or worse. Buy online would be so much safer than playing roulette with your dealers.

                              [–]JayGeeTeeAy 52 points53 points  (15 children)

                              Would love to read an AMA on this topic from either an active member or former member. Alternatively do you have any links to info or know of any documentaries?

                              [–]GreasyPeanut 35 points36 points  (11 children)

                              There's nothing specifically just on their drug dealing but here is a documentary made a few months ago about one paramilitary, the UVF, and its criminality. And I've thought about that before too, a former paramilitary doing an AMA here.

                              [–][deleted] 15 points16 points  (6 children)

                              I had no idea N. Ireland was in such bad shape. I thought all of that stuff had passed and that it was a hot tourist spot now.

                              I hope things get better over there.

                              [–]GreasyPeanut 23 points24 points  (4 children)

                              Well petty crime is low, it's quite safe for the average joe visiting, investment has returned, there are plenty of tourists, the Army has left and direct rule has ended. However inside the assembly things are quite rocky at the moment, there are bomb scares every week or so, there is a terrorist campaign which has risen in intensity over the last few years, people are still being shot every now and again, the economy is dire and from my own experience sectarianism and the attacks that stem from it are commonplace. From the outside looking in it seems that everything is fine, but dig beneath the surface and there are still plenty of problems. In saying that however the place is unrecognisable from 10, 15 years ago. Things have moved on considerably, but not totally.

                              [–]_therunner 16 points17 points  (2 children)

                              https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsAHGu-Z-VA

                              That's a Vice documentary about Derry (A city heavy with paramilitaries) in Northern Ireland, as well as this Ross Kemp in his extreme world did a piece on Northern Ireland and the paramilitary/drugs.

                              As well as this there are a few groups dedicated to stopping the flow of drugs in northern ireland such as the RAAD (Radical action against drugs) who have gained the support of people despite various violences and attacks against people associated with drugs if you want to look that up.

                              Edit: Ross Kemp Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FE_wHMcv9p8&feature=kp

                              [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                              There's allegations doing the rounds that the RAAD are only targeting drug dealers which wont comply with dissident Republican paramilitaries i.e. pay protection money. Instead of them being a genuine cause against drugs, they're just another group of Republican dissidents to help dissidents make money from drugs.

                              [–]GIVES_SOLID_ADVICE 8 points9 points  (1 child)

                              That sounds pretty intense. You go to score a little bit of ecstasy for you and your girl, maybe a little blow, and you leave with yr arms jacked up, your pockets turned out, and some new enemies.

                              [–]samurai-samuel 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                              I don't know why, but the way you wrote that was awesome

                              [–]danieljamesgillen 6 points7 points  (3 children)

                              This is absolute rubbish. Maybe some Loyalists do this, but even then it seems out there.

                              [–]PhilBoBaggens 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                              Then on the other side if your caught using drugs by a member of the ra, you get kneecapped

                              [–][deleted]  (2 children)

                              [deleted]

                                [–]GreasyPeanut 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                I wouldn't put it past the UVF like. I could very easily see that happening.

                                [–]bloopeeriod 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                You live in Hell. If I was you I would mos def move. Come to Canada, its nothing like that here.

                                [–]McGobs 48 points49 points  (81 children)

                                What steps did you take to not get caught? What steps should you have taken to avoid being found out?

                                [–]xxcxcxc 94 points95 points  (80 children)

                                I obviously used Silk Road on TOR and I used bitcoins to pay which doesn't leave much of a paper trail back to myself. The problem was that if one suspect package got seized it would have my name and address on and instead of receiving a "love letter" from customs you would get police officers knocking at your door. Any evidence they find after knocking on your phone/computer can link you to the package. If you didn't have a single scrap of evidence on your computer/phone linking to the package you could deny the package was for you and probably face no charges.

                                [–]nocheesegromit 36 points37 points  (77 children)

                                so what was the evidence linking you to the package? Why were you unable to deny you ordered it?

                                [–]xxcxcxc 94 points95 points  (75 children)

                                They had evidence on my phone openly discussing selling MDMA.

                                [–]TheDrunkSemaphore 168 points169 points  (55 children)

                                Drug dealers have burner phones. You should have attended dealers 101 in university

                                [–]literal_reply_guy 137 points138 points  (36 children)

                                ..or watched The Wire which is where I feel most of reddit gets their information on drug dealers from.

                                [–]TheDrunkSemaphore 15 points16 points  (30 children)

                                I haven't seen the wire. It's simple though. Prepaid phone can't be tracked back to you. Don't write messages that incriminate you. Etc.

                                But sure. Call me out for being an arm chair drug dealer.

                                [–]literal_reply_guy 10 points11 points  (3 children)

                                It wasn't you in particular bud, though arm chair drug dealer sounds like a kushty job.

                                [–]red_dwarf_fan 2 points3 points  (8 children)

                                They tried prepaid phones on The Wire! Didn't work.. Damn sneaky cops

                                [–]DarthSeraph 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                Also Breaking Bad.

                                [–][deleted] 16 points17 points  (2 children)

                                No they don't. At least not those who are selling to their friends like this guy.

                                To expand; drug movers and distributors might use burners. But using a throwaway phone is not nearly as cut and dry as the media makes it out to be. Furthermore, a guy selling to his personal acquaintances is not going to do very well if he is sketching people out by having all sorts of different numbers and whatnot.

                                The best thing to do is to discuss all drug related business strictly in person. Use texts or calls to say things like "come through/ lets chill/ you around?/ lets meet up" and keep the actual dirty details off the record.

                                That being said, the vast majority of people doing these things have no reason to think that they are being investigated, and complacency/ slip ups happen. Frankly as long as you are not anything more than small time you don't have to fear anything besides on of your dumbass clients getting snatched up for possession and rolling on you.

                                [–]jazzmcneil 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                He had emails on his PC proving he sold the tablets to friends.

                                [–]jsoys 15 points16 points  (4 children)

                                You cite that you adhere to the libertarian ideals of silk-road, though, you also say that you aren't a big drug user and only use MDMA. - Would you say that you decided to start importing moreso to make some money? Or rather, to live up to, and contribute to the values that you cite?

                                [–]xxcxcxc 34 points35 points  (3 children)

                                Originally I was importing to have good quality, safe MDMA and to support the ideals we've mentioned. But eventually when you get encouraged to sell it you do feel the instinct to make money. However much I dislike that instinct.

                                [–]jsoys 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                Let's put a hypothetical on that instinct (back when you were an importer) - If you had had the opportunity to make some good money from some much harder and more damaging drugs such as crystal meth/heroin, would you have considered doing so? Or is there a stage at which you draw a line in the sand?

                                [–]xxcxcxc 8 points9 points  (0 children)

                                I wouldn't have got involved in any other drugs ever.

                                [–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (4 children)

                                Did you ever get sold fake pills and if so how did you respond?

                                [–]xxcxcxc 39 points40 points  (3 children)

                                Not from Silk Road. I've had bad experiences with other dealers. Pills that were PMMA. I responded by having a pretty bad weekend and never going back to that particular person.

                                [–]Jllle 4 points5 points  (2 children)

                                I don't know what it's like in the UK but maybe you can get your pills tested (anonymously)

                                [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                [deleted]

                                  [–]Jruthe1 22 points23 points  (2 children)

                                  Would you ever consider going back to selling?

                                  [–][deleted] 108 points109 points  (0 children)

                                  Nice try, judge

                                  [–]xxcxcxc 56 points57 points  (0 children)

                                  No.

                                  [–][deleted] 19 points20 points  (6 children)

                                  Do you feel as though you have done anything wrong?

                                  [–]xxcxcxc 55 points56 points  (5 children)

                                  Yes, I thought I could get away with selling drugs to people and I couldn't. I don't believe I am a bad person for doing it but it was definitely a mistake.

                                  [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (2 children)

                                  Unless I'm misreading you; you seem to think your mistake was getting caught and it was a mistake because of it. If you weren't caught do you think you would have stopped or carried on? Do you consider yourself a drug dealer?

                                  [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                  [deleted]

                                    [–]Razzman18 91 points92 points  (34 children)

                                    Presuming you were a regular user of Silk Road I presume you had alot of bitcoins built up. Did you sell them when they hit high price? Or were they seized presuming the police confiscated your laptop or computer?

                                    [–]xxcxcxc 228 points229 points  (24 children)

                                    I actually didn't have any bitcoins left in my account when I was arrested. But I counted up the amount of bitcoins I had handled over a certain time period and if sold now would equate to hundreds of thousands of pounds...

                                    [–]buttputt 190 points191 points  (15 children)

                                    That's heavy.

                                    [–]pdmcmahon 209 points210 points  (12 children)

                                    There's that word again, heavy. Why are things so heavy in the future? Is there a problem with the Earth's gravitational pull?

                                    [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                                    Great Scott!

                                    [–]Shangheli 18 points19 points  (4 children)

                                    Hope you smoked some good shit for that price.

                                    [–]damnshiok 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                    It's not too late to invest in bitcoins again! Here, have some! 1000 bits /u/changetip

                                    [–][deleted] 378 points379 points  (4 children)

                                    presuming

                                    presume

                                    presuming

                                    [–]RoonilaWazlib 11 points12 points  (0 children)

                                    He's a presumptuous guy.

                                    [–][deleted]  (13 children)

                                    [deleted]

                                      [–]xxcxcxc 83 points84 points  (12 children)

                                      Yes, deeply. I had the worst 18 months of my life. Something like that hanging over your head, unsure whether you will be in prison or not. Horrible stuff!

                                      [–]pelirrojo 11 points12 points  (8 children)

                                      How much did your solicitor & legal fees cost?
                                      How stressful was it, it sounds like a long drawn out process

                                      [–]xxcxcxc 46 points47 points  (7 children)

                                      It was in fact free, due to legal aid :)

                                      [–]coogzzz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                      That honestly is one of the worst feelings. Sometimes, it seems like wondering if you're going to be in prison is worse than being in prison.

                                      [–]Digitaldude555 31 points32 points  (127 children)

                                      Do you support legalization of all drugs? Or partial legalization?

                                      [–]xxcxcxc 94 points95 points  (126 children)

                                      Not at all. I think there should be more understanding of what "drugs" are. 'cause many things we intake can have harmful effects on the body but for some reason we are allowed to make the decision to put it in our body. But with other substances we're not allowed to make that decision. The way the system is set up is counter productive. Putting money into the wrong hands, encouraging violent/criminal behaviour and causing other problems like legal highs and research chemicals and stuff...

                                      I think the decriminalization of the less harmful drugs would be better. But that could cause problems in the long term by encouraging people to turn to drugs, who otherwise wouldn't because it's illegal. I don't know!

                                      [–]honeybeegeneric 22 points23 points  (2 children)

                                      Do you mind sharing your age with us? If so, how old are you?

                                      [–]xxcxcxc 43 points44 points  (1 child)

                                      24

                                      [–]honeybeegeneric 21 points22 points  (0 children)

                                      Thanks. I found your AmA interesting.

                                      [–]ChaosMotor 4 points5 points  (3 children)

                                      But that could cause problems in the long term by encouraging people to turn to drugs, who otherwise wouldn't because it's illegal

                                      Actually the opposite is true - fewer people try drugs when they are legal.

                                      [–]balanced_view 56 points57 points  (24 children)

                                      I'm surprised you're so ambivalent about it. People need good information and advice, but being able to choose what to put in your own body is a basic liberty.

                                      [–]jacob8015 49 points50 points  (2 children)

                                      At the very least treat hard drug addiction as a health problem rather than a criminal one.

                                      [–]StickmanSham 6 points7 points  (0 children)

                                      Did you know that Portugal decriminalized all drugs and the number of addicts dropped by 50 percent?

                                      [–]ThisFrickinSite 1 point2 points  (10 children)

                                      If the entire planet was on weed and shrooms all the time...

                                      [–]Captain_Kock 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                                      But that could cause problems in the long term by encouraging people to turn to drugs, who otherwise wouldn't because it's illegal.

                                      I fundamentally disagree that ocassional drug use is inherently problematic. Thus, I fail to see any trouble associated with a rise in drug users.

                                      Let people think for themselves and make their own decisions.

                                      [–][deleted]  (62 children)

                                      [removed]

                                        [–]TheDrunkSemaphore 17 points18 points  (11 children)

                                        It's the standard hypocritical drug user response. "Make the OTHER drugs illegal, they're bad. But not this one I do". They all should be legal and responsible adults should be able to do whatever they want with their bodies.

                                        [–]docdoogan 4 points5 points  (7 children)

                                        I would agree to this to a point; in theory it seems sound but in a real world application heroin inherently has a significantly higher risk associated with use than that of cannabis.

                                        [–]TheDrunkSemaphore 5 points6 points  (2 children)

                                        In a controlled environment it's not nearly as dangerous. Knowing the purity by having reputable government controlled manufacturers would prevent plenty of overdoses.

                                        And so what? I choose to do a lot of things that put me in danger. Just because it might kill you doesn't mean you should stop responsible adults from doing it so long as they know and accept the risk.

                                        [–]docdoogan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        I honestly agree with you; I feel that it is far outside the government's powers to control what the governed populous puts into their bodies. Which I am not disagreeing with you that in a controlled environment the risk is minimized (i.e. morphine administration through a hospital is less likely to result in an overdose than a recreational user or addict injecting an unknown purity substance). The risk isn't just in the actual substance itself either; it is also in the poor practices surrounding the use. Bleach kits and NXPs are great but most street users do not properly bleach previously used needles (proper procedure would be to completely fill the syringe with bleach and let it sit for two minutes then expell that bleach, then repeat that again; then repeat again twice only instead of bleach use purified/distilled water) and the lack of access to NXPs in many non-metropolitan areas lead to a significant increase in risk.

                                        [–]dvbdvb 6 points7 points  (6 children)

                                        Do you know how your package got flagged? That's the scariest part about SR, because you never know if your package is going to make it through without suspicion

                                        [–]xxcxcxc 17 points18 points  (5 children)

                                        No idea. 100 tablets was my biggest order so it might have been because of the quantity.

                                        [–]djh816 8 points9 points  (2 children)

                                        Were they packaged any differently? I saw that you did now want to comment on the actual packaging but just curious. After watching things like Border Patrol, I'd figure most international pill shipments would be easily seen. I'm curious how so many others got through.

                                        [–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (1 child)

                                        They intercepted the last package, how would he know what it looks like?

                                        [–]dasstigpig 6 points7 points  (1 child)

                                        Looking back. Would you have done anything differently? How do you feel the police acted towards you throughout the process?

                                        [–]xxcxcxc 40 points41 points  (0 children)

                                        Looking back the police where in fact, hilarious. They did a whole cliché good cop bad cop routine which I didn't realize at the time. I was treated with respect by the police and have respect for them doing there jobs. One police officer was a bit rude and patronizing to me but I'm sure he is just a miserable person in general.

                                        If I could go back. I wouldn't sell a single ecstasy tablet to anyone. I still think buying off Silk Road for personal use has it's advantages but obviously now for me that ship has sailed.

                                        [–]Toffeemanstan 28 points29 points  (22 children)

                                        Red or Blue? ;)

                                        [–]xxcxcxc 38 points39 points  (7 children)

                                        Red :)

                                        [–]Duckstiff 26 points27 points  (2 children)

                                        There's only one good team on Merseyside and that's Tranmere.

                                        [–]Toffeemanstan 12 points13 points  (2 children)

                                        This man is guilty and must go to jail!!!

                                        🙊

                                        [–]Toffeemanstan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        Just kidding, Liverpool fans are people too :)

                                        [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                        Both. Someone hands you two pills... take two pills.

                                        [–]circleinthesquare 8 points9 points  (12 children)

                                        Everyone knows Charizard's the shit compared to Squirtle.

                                        [–]heytimj 37 points38 points  (2 children)

                                        *blastoise. Can't compare apples to oranges, chief.

                                        [–]MetatronYo 14 points15 points  (5 children)

                                        If you could go back in time, what advice would you give yourself?

                                        [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                        "Get a PO box"
                                        "Find better vendors"
                                        "Don't buy bulk pills"

                                        [–]Oscill 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                                        I know you already mentioned your phone, but what kind of evidence did they find on your computer?

                                        [–]sawwaveanalog 5 points6 points  (12 children)

                                        Did you not have a login/password required for your computer and phone or were the police able to get past it?

                                        [–]xxcxcxc 3 points4 points  (4 children)

                                        They didn't require any info from me to access my phone records. They did it through the phone network (Three). They didn't access anything on my computer apart from Facebook messages which were through Facebooks server.

                                        [–]atticlynx 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                                        So they only had the package and phone calls, facebook messages to your friends? That doesn't seem like a strong case

                                        [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                        [deleted]

                                          [–]xxcxcxc 7 points8 points  (0 children)

                                          The main evidence was phone messages and inferences that they drew from those. They had no idea what TOR was throughout the whole case. They also had no idea what Silk Road was. (police/prosecution/defence/judge)

                                          [–]plaizure 7 points8 points  (14 children)

                                          I had a friend who did much the same thing as you. He would import about 100 hits of acid, or whatever he could afford at the time, and sell to his close friends. I don't believe he ever got caught, but the Silk Road was shut down about 8 months after he started doing that. We're the prices for MDMA as low as many of the Research Chemicals my friend got? He used to get 100 doses for under $100 with a general street price of $10 a dose.

                                          [–]Burnerama1233 19 points20 points  (0 children)

                                          Worth pointing out you will almost never be caught if you are receiving acid through the mail. It's just sheets of paper and dogs cannot smell it, in a business envelope the chances of it getting flag are basically zero.

                                          [–]WhiskeyMountainWay 1 point2 points  (2 children)

                                          Wait, people purposely use research chemicals? Frankly I have only ever heard of them being fraudulently sold as "acid", or rather, the definition of acid has expanded to include research chemicals, which causes some to confuse them for LSD but I have also heard of sellers selling them as LSD. Most people I have spoken to disliked the experience and felt duped.

                                          [–]NauticalxDisaster 24 points25 points  (22 children)

                                          My question pertains more to darkweb than your specific charges. I'm a writer and I find the darkweb intriguing. I've done a lot of research and I'm curious about your opinion. Do you think this portion of the internet is capable of ultimately be used to positive purposes. Examples would be anonymity in cases such as whistleblowing etc. I find that the general view by the uninformed public is that the darkweb is solely evil. Its portrayal from news outlets of course does nothing to belay this fear. I think this is an area that is highly underutilized and could be used to immense advantage. Do you believe that there is a greater potential for this space to be used in positive ways or do you feel that its can only be used for criminal enterprises? Also, really pleased to see your sentence. A lot of times courts don't understand these types of internet transactions and in that misunderstanding go way overboard.

                                          [–]xxcxcxc 110 points111 points  (10 children)

                                          I think the Dark Web is just a reaction to the amount of surveillance in society as a whole. But it's hard to say how I feel because how I feel is based on PEOPLE and not TECHNOLOGY. Bad people will use technology for bad things, good people will use it for good things. So I can't say either way really.

                                          If people think the Dark Web is bad then they should blame whoever caused the need for such a technology to exist in the first place. Which is governments around the world who don't respect peoples rights to privacy.

                                          [–]NauticalxDisaster 22 points23 points  (8 children)

                                          Yes! This is exactly my point when I try to explain it to others. People that will do "bad" things, whatever your idea of bad is, will do them regardless. Plus, when you really get into it, some of the people doing bad things also do good things. I have a rather varied view of blackhat hacking, I mean, yes of course this ability can be used against you, but sometimes it is also used for what I consider good. That said, gonna be in London Nov 5th?

                                          [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                          The Deep Web was also used during the revolution in Egypt to get passed the filters the government had placed upon the internet

                                          [–]Scantcobra 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                          Wouldn't you agree that the birko tranny is better looking than the secombe tranny?

                                          [–]xxcxcxc 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                          Is the birko tranny the one on the bike? I don't know what the seacombe tranny looks like sorry

                                          [–]TheTomminator2 3 points4 points  (1 child)

                                          How long did you successfully order drugs to your house for before you got caught? Did it take a long time?

                                          [–]xxcxcxc 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                          Maybe 6 months

                                          [–]daisymk 11 points12 points  (3 children)

                                          How did you get into it in the first place? Was it already quite well-established when you got involved? I've known a few people who ordered things (and received them, and been very happy with quality!), but I've never known a seller, so also would be really interested to know what you did to set it all up in the first place. Side question - were you bricking it when you sent out your first orders? :)

                                          [–]xxcxcxc 32 points33 points  (2 children)

                                          Ahh I think you misunderstood. I wasn't using Silk Road to sell anything. I just used it to buy. It was pretty easy to get into... there were youtube guides and blogs with guides etc.

                                          [–]_toro 10 points11 points  (5 children)

                                          What client did you use to connect to the dark net?

                                          [–]xxcxcxc 29 points30 points  (0 children)

                                          Vidalia?

                                          [–]ThatDandyMan 18 points19 points  (3 children)

                                          There's more than one?

                                          [–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (15 children)

                                          Why dis you only sell Molly and no other drugs?

                                          [–]xxcxcxc 36 points37 points  (14 children)

                                          I don't like other drugs. Weighing up the pros and cons of other drugs and MDMA is the only one I choose to risk to take.

                                          [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                                          Thanks for the reply!

                                          [–]1ww1ww1 5 points6 points  (9 children)

                                          Did the dealer on the silk road have a high review rating? Do you know how the drugs were contained?

                                          Also please delete the post where you say you buy from friends now, especially with your name being in your proof.

                                          [–]xxcxcxc 11 points12 points  (8 children)

                                          The silk road seller had a high rating yes. He was very reliable. I don't think I want to discuss how they were contained. Let's just say it was stealthy.

                                          [–][deleted] 47 points48 points  (5 children)

                                          Did you leave bad feedback after getting arrested?

                                          [–]justForTony 18 points19 points  (0 children)

                                          0/5 went to jail.

                                          [–]JDismyfriend 3 points4 points  (0 children)

                                          'Got arrested, would not buy again FFFFFF-----------'

                                          [–]romanovitch420 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                          Asking all the right questions

                                          [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                          asking the important questions

                                          [–][deleted]  (4 children)

                                          [deleted]

                                            [–]xxcxcxc 7 points8 points  (0 children)

                                            Yes. Yes I did.

                                            [–]Clitcheese 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                            hahahaha

                                            [–]kmart77 2 points3 points  (10 children)

                                            How has this screwed your personal life?

                                            [–]xxcxcxc 21 points22 points  (9 children)

                                            It did screw with my personal life for a long time. My girlfriend was worried about me possibly not being around. My family suffered and going to court and being on bail messed with my job etc. But now everything is great. Everyone who was supposed to stand by me did so :)

                                            [–]drsuperfly 5 points6 points  (4 children)

                                            I'm so happy that you had such a great support system with those that are close to you. You've mentioned that you wanted to cut back on using drugs and eventually quit. Remember that you don't have to do it alone and these same people who love you are willing to help. Good luck.

                                            [–]EffingLuke 4 points5 points  (3 children)

                                            Nice try, Frank

                                            [–]drsuperfly 2 points3 points  (2 children)

                                            I don't understand the reference. Would you care to explain or share a link?

                                            [–]EffingLuke 6 points7 points  (0 children)

                                            Sure, Talk To Frank is a website (and phone service I believe) here in the UK that offers information and advice on drugs.

                                            [–]x69pr 2 points3 points  (3 children)

                                            Well you were lucky there! But i always was curious since i first heard of the silk road, how do they sent the drugs to your address without them being seized/found at the various post offices, customs, xray scans etc? And how did you come up with the courage to order drugs to be sent to your address for the first time?

                                            [–]xxcxcxc 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                            My knowledge of customs is that they don't scan all items and don't have sniffer dogs all the time. They can't physically check every package.

                                            [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                            Why did you decide to order from and international source rather than a domestic source?

                                            [–]cdk_aegir 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                            Ever watched Ideal? I've never been a user but I love that show.

                                            [–]XBV 2 points3 points  (0 children)

                                            1) Did you use your real name on the order? If you had used a fake name, would they have been able to pin anything on you?

                                            2) If it had been a domestic order (I take it from your posts it was international), would it have been flagged?

                                            3) How large was the order and if it had been smaller, would it have been flagged?

                                            Thanks

                                            [–]lolthrowaway42 5 points6 points  (0 children)

                                            Yep, sounds about right for Leasowe? :p

                                            [–][deleted]  (1 child)

                                            [deleted]

                                              [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

                                              Aren't the laws in the US surrounding receiving packages different? Plausible deniability?

                                              [–][deleted]  (3 children)

                                              [deleted]

                                                [–]xxcxcxc 4 points5 points  (0 children)

                                                If they come from abroad you face Importation charges for personal use.

                                                [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (1 child)

                                                Find a domestic source and your chances of being caught are close to zero.

                                                [–]liquidify 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                                How much evidence did they have on you and how far back did it go before you were arrested?

                                                Also, how has your charge affected your ability to get jobs, and have you found ways around it?

                                                [–]New_Post_Evaluator 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                                What was the charge?

                                                [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                                Any of the friends you sold to get in trouble?

                                                [–]Baddiekins 0 points1 point  (7 children)

                                                What's the largest non-legal repercussion you've had to deal with as a result of your conviction?

                                                [–]xxcxcxc 5 points6 points  (6 children)

                                                I don't understand what a non-legal repercussion is. Telling my family? paranoia/anxiety about the situation? Community Service? Having to inform future employers of a criminal record? etc?

                                                [–]Baddiekins 2 points3 points  (5 children)

                                                I probably could have been more specific. I meant things like how your family reacted, etc. Things aside from the courtrooms and police officers.

                                                [–]xxcxcxc 4 points5 points  (4 children)

                                                My girlfriend was very anxious, worried, depressed. We had to tell her family also and that was hard (especially her dad). I had to tell my family and everyone was upset but stood by me. I had to tell the owners of the business I work for and they stood by me also.

                                                [–]Jungle2266 1 point2 points  (3 children)

                                                Holy shit, you didn't lose your job?

                                                [–]xxcxcxc 8 points9 points  (2 children)

                                                I was, in fact told, that my job would still be available to me after my custodial sentence(if that happened) :)

                                                [–]WolfyCat 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                                Love sweet, sweet blighty.

                                                [–]vertbro 1 point2 points  (0 children)

                                                Will you invest in Darkcoin?

                                                [–]neonr4in 4 points5 points  (6 children)

                                                Just curious, what's your favorite kind of music ?

                                                [–]xxcxcxc 32 points33 points  (5 children)

                                                Plenty: house, disco, techno, garage, hip hop, stuff from the 80s etc

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