I am a criminal defense lawyer. AMA regarding potential legal issues surrounding the DNM bust.

1) I'm an American criminal defense attorney. If you aren't American, I likely can't answer your question at all. If you are American, just know I'm somewhat limited in what I can answer, because while we have 1 set of federal laws, we have 50 sets of state laws. So I'll be mostly general in my answers, rather than super specific with your case.

2) Disclaimer: This should not be interpreted as legal advice. It would be an ethical violation for me to give you legal advice. If you are contacted by anyone, get your own attorney ASAP.

3) Be patient. I'm also working today, so I may have to take calls, etc. in between answering.

4) I'm not a security expert. You have great people here in this sub to help you with that. I just know enough to keep myself safe.

5) Fuck that racist troll Jeff Sessions.


Comments


[86 Points] transgenderassasin:

i have chartered a small plane with 340 seats to take me to Belize how much do you think i should charge for a ticket, sex change and a blonde wig


[38 Points] dankgrilled:

Is having my address from Hansa enough to get a warrant? I already cleaned house. Deleted pgp keys. And literally cleaned my house for funzies.


[28 Points] notfreakedout:

I am/was a weed vendor (nothing else) on AB with a few hundred sales, was just barely getting going on Hansa. I'm not in Europe. I have good opsec, never had a pack seized, no one in my real life knows about it, and I am planning on laying low.

Any particular recommendations for me and other vendors out there, aside from clean house and find a lawyer?


[21 Points] seventhaccount7:

Are traps gay?


[15 Points] None:

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[11 Points] istoleyourribeyes:

I ordered two packages that successfully landed two weeks ago. I used autoPGP. I ordered legal RCs to the same address. It's en route. How would this look in the eyes of the law? The pack is going from Canada's to US.


[8 Points] xxxcat1:

You people give up too much info.


[7 Points] Big_Boy_Stacks:

What is the legality of identifying someone through either a JS exploit or booby trapped file exploit?


[6 Points] None:

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[5 Points] None:

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[4 Points] righttobear_armsl0l:

Hi, I accidentally leaked an address in clear text on alphabay a long while back.

Only have ordered tramadol and the occasional weed/xanax. In very small amounts.

How likely would it be for LE to try and get me?


[4 Points] AmIscrewedornot123:

Yesterday I placed two orders on Hansa. 1 for 3 tabs of acid... one for 10 viagras.

I encrypted my address myself and then sent it to the vendor, I've since deleted that private key, my bitcoins had been tumbled through Helix, I used tails every step of the way..

Is there any chance of me getting a knock on my door?


[4 Points] Tephines:

I have no questions for you. I just want to sincerely thank you for helping out the members of this community. It truly means a lot knowing you're taking personal time out of your day to do so.


[3 Points] throwawayp3bs:

If somebody logged into Hansa and didn't place any orders, but had previous order history, would having their IP alone cause LE to investigate?


[2 Points] None:

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[2 Points] bigmeme56:

Okay, Lets picture a scene

A person buys from Hansa, use a tumbler to send my coins to their own wallet that has a different address, buy >$50 of something off there, a non hard drug, delivered without issue. Lets say this person saw the Hansa thing, and encrypted their drives a long with wiping other possible evidence of any wrong-doing.

This person's transaction only had a name and address, nothing more.

What would happen to this person, if say Law Enforcement where to seize their encrypted computer, but could not see the drive's contents? What would then happen?


[2 Points] AlottaGoodman:

Myyyygawd you are a good person with far more patience than I have to answer tons of "what if" questions. Would be like 2L crim law 4 hour Monday night class all over again lawllllll


[2 Points] Potatos500:

A vendor sent my tracking info without encrypting it. If it cleared customs before today (as other people last week and this week have received their packs from this vendor) what do you think are the chances they'll still go after me/conduct a CD? 2500 xanax.


[2 Points] IronmansVisa:

What's the deal regarding personally locked cases? Say I throw all my drugs, paraphernalia, OPSEC tools, etc. in a locked safe and then placed it in the trunk of my car. If my home was raided, would they have the right/cause to open it/force me to open it?


[0 Points] OpOnymousSurvivor:

fresh account my dick - this guys probably a fucking cop too. if you were a real lawyer, you wouldn't be advertising on this subreddit of all places - people would be flocking to you - except the number of Americans targeted in the recent "busts" are minimal, if not zero. you are right about Sessions, fuck that old piece of shit - like he even knows what a BTC is...

do not admit to this guy what you were expecting in the mail FFS....


[2 Points] bobbiggs69:

This is a great thread, thanks for doing this.


[1 Points] None:

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[2 Points] dcya:

What kind of exposure is someone looking at for purchasing legal research chemicals? Also what bout my vendor is he safe to order from still if i have another way of contacting him, if he only sells legal RC's? I have an order on the way and i'm nervous - but again it is not scheduled. Would they be watching him for selling unscheduled substance?


[1 Points] None:

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[1 Points] thegroovedude:

Only order I made on Hansa as of the last few months was 3 pills of oxycodone on Hansa last week (week of July 9th). I encrypted everything myself & did everything through TAILS. Should I be worried/clean house?


[1 Points] None:

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[1 Points] PokemonGoesResearch:

Hypothetically, local police were given info/basis for them to conduct search warrant and uncovered a substantial but personal amount of drugs. Assume they also have some tech data-evidence confirming that he bought it.

Would this ever be tried in federal court if the amounts are strictly personal? And if it's in state court, say e.g. Cali with prop 47, it would be an entirely misdemeanor possession case right?

Sorry one last question. If a new substance is banned at the federal level it is not necessarily banned/chargeable in state court right? Unless the state has some statute outlawing all drugs illegal under fed law? Basically wondering if newly made illegal substances are chargeable under state law.


[1 Points] trickye:

Got several illict substances. Never sold just bought. Ordered within last two weeks from Hansa. Should I be worried?


[1 Points] None:

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[1 Points] None:

hey, thanks for doing what your doing. so over id say half a year ive been buying large amount of a illegal item to my house and never had any issues. I've spent a little over 6k in the course of that half year (all purchases on alphabay) and was wondering how fucked am I?? I cleaned my whole house but that doesn't really matter because the stuff I bought were out of my doors within hours. thanks in advance


[1 Points] None:

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[1 Points] stormerloupedx:

So basically should I be worried if I mostly used auto encryption and bought small amounts of drugs occasionally? If I'm fucked I'll probably just hang myself I'm not ready to deal with a stupid government who thinks it should control my substance use. I mean will they just arrest anyone indiscriminately of amount etc..?


[1 Points] lacertasomnium:

Would you expect any investigations in south american countries? Or is this more of an american and european thing?


[1 Points] None:

if someone wouldve auto pgp'd their adress and didnt use a tumbler on hansa, but the last purchase was end of march, is he still in trouble?


[1 Points] chillywilly16:

Here's a question I haven't seen today. Is it possible for LE to use a customer's review of a product on Hansa, AB, etc as an admission of guilt?


[1 Points] jewjewbeans_:

Hopefully not too late to get a response. I have made transactions on both markets. Have always used pgp encryption (not marking the checkbox on the market before sending my info, only pasting my already encrypted info in the buyers notes), never made transactions over $200, and only asking because severe anxiety. What are my options?


[1 Points] None:

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[1 Points] mynamesalwaystaken:

Holy shit kids, stop posting the items and quantities. That "Oh, I was making it to be cool" shit you see on TV...don't fly and I give not 1 fuck how secure your connection is....Play it smart, be vague :)


[1 Points] None:

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[1 Points] HumpinHenry:

If I sent a lot of untumbled coins to AB are they gonna follow up on that and start investigating me? If they can't get me with any drug charges will they report it to the IRS?


[1 Points] Farkeman:

I was always wondering about this immaginary scenario:

What if I purchase some really shitty but illegal drugs and post them to my archnemesis. Apparently just having and address and order history is enough for a warrant/arrest, so doesn't this scenario make a perfect crime?
Just order some crack for 100$ once a month to some guy you have and bam, he gets jailtime?

How do you prove that the drugs were purchased by the person to whom they are delivered?


[1 Points] kookieless:

Odd question but, my DNM user name is the same as my pornsite names should i quit using my pornsite accounts? I just did a google search for said username and it turns out someone else uses it to. Should i let him know he may be under scrutiny of the law too?


[1 Points] vendurr:

Will the FBI be correlating users TOR IP addresses with other accounts? How far will they go with that information? It seems like a very simple way to catch resellers, but if that was the case there wouldve been a lot more arrests after SR


[1 Points] None:

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[1 Points] cumineyez:

Hello. I've got hold on fraud guides from reseller and I was selling them on AB. Should I be worried?


[1 Points] t3hd3viant:

Total of two orders for 1g each of crystal meth (under $60 total) to my house, from two vendors on Hansa in the last week or two. Both arrived safely (one right after Hansa went down). These were my only orders on Hansa.

I, being lazy, used the auto-pgp function, so its likely LE has my name/address. One of the packages made me a little suspicious but I think that's just me. Anyway:

I (think I) have decided to /not/ clean house, because civil-disobedience, or call it addiction, whatever. But I suspect my house will be clean in a week tops anyhow, due to the small amount in question. Heres my question:

How risky is this? How likely is it that I get a knock on my door in the next week or two with a search warrant? I live in a fairly big city in the midwest. I have plenty of orders over the years on Alphabay (all small amounts of 'mostly' non-opioid drugs), but i don't think this is really going to be an issue. Am I stupid? Thanks


[1 Points] wrick0:

Lets say theoretically my friend died of a overdose of fentanyl laced heroin, which was bought on hansa when the dutch police were in control.

Can they be held responsible since they had the chance to shut down the market, but made a choice to keep it running?

or another example;

if somebody steals a bait car placed in a busy spot and while driving away accidently runs over somebody killing them, who is responsible ?


[1 Points] Bham40oz:

First thank you for doing this. I have two interesting questions:

  1. How serious a crime is to purchase prescription like Xanax and Adderall (no painpills). Would it cause LE to prosecute?

  2. What if I have script with me for aforementioned drugs? And if I'm in US, but those scripts are from my own country (non-us country)?


[1 Points] Drlb117:

I ordered over 2 months about 3-4 ounces of weed off of Alphabay and Hansa. I was not as careful as I should of been, and now I am kind of worried. I have a package at the post office they're asking me to sign for, and I don't want to because I've heard of Europol sending "intelligence packages" and maybe that's what they're wanting me to sign. I'm not going to sign the package, i don't think it's worth it. Any advice?


[1 Points] was_i_stupid:

thank you for doing this. here's my stupid scenario.

ordered off hansa early july. first and only time ordering off hansa. lazily used the auto-pgp. ordered a bit over $200 of lsd.

i've cleaned house since then. all product is gone. about to get rid of my current tails setup along with all my pgp keys and such.

will my address be added to a watch list? if i order directly from a vendor in the future and stick to domestic ordering, i'm assuming i should have a new drop, but will friends/family addresses be watched?


[1 Points] julian6:

i live in nl. Used alphabay a lot; used zero opsec (address in cleartext). i never registered on hansa, did register on dream market and posted address in cleartext again. i know im a dumbass, learned my lesson now. But how fucked am i? is it likely the dutch police has my dox? only order small quantities.


[1 Points] Pussycatmagnet:

This may be a dumb question, but none the less I need to ask it/ pose this hypothetical.

In the case of individual personal use is there any ground for a lawsuit similar to Roe V. Wade ever emerging that may take the form of a case attempting to end discriminatory settings within healthcare environments due to social cultural biases based upon things such as drug use? Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Roe V. Wade decision hinge upon the definition of bodily autonomy interpreted via the fourteenth amendment? How does that not translate over to personal sovereignty when it comes to personal use of any substance?

As someone who's completely unscathed by what's happened I really want to weigh in and see what a lawyer has to say about this on a constitutional level.

The markets are LE compromised, the administration is one that is obviously going to ignore the opinions of medical professionals and right now this needs to become a massive civil rights issue. Even the World Health Organization released a document at the end of June saying we need to end drug prohibition globally to eradicate discriminatory practices within health care settings.

I known our government ignores anything the UN and the WHO have to say all the while participating and calling the shots most of the time. But other than the murky opaque status of our trans national participation within an attempted globalize governing apparatus, how will these things affect our society when it comes to the stigmas that are perpetuated by our current culture of Prohibitionism?

Will our country ever make a move to decriminalize all substances? And will federal constitutional action ever be taken in regards to this issue of civil liberties? Or do you think they will do away with the US co story Rion completely and our entire country will slip into a fascist empire?


[1 Points] None:

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[0 Points] Gemini911:

Do IP adresses hold enough weight for them to investigate somebody?


[-19 Points] None:

So what exactly are you offering ? All I got outta your post was your useless and have no info. What are you going to tell us don't talk to cops ? Lol