Duo Behind "LetsWork" Vendor Account Sentenced to Prison
~3 min read | Published on 2021-05-05, tagged Darkweb-Vendor, Drug-Bust, Drugs, Sentenced using 523 words.
Two drug dealers responsible for earning more than £3.7 million through the darkweb vendor account “LetsWork” were sentenced to a total of 24 years in prison.
Jehanzeb Amar, 29, and Salahydin Warsame, 29, were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court for their roles in the conspiracy to distribute large quantities of heroin, cocaine, MDMA, and LSD through the darkweb and Telegram under the ‘LetsWork’ username.
The duo had reportedly set up a bot to automate drug sales on Telegram. The bot received orders, kept the duo’s clients updated, and even apologized for late deliveries caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Metropolitan Police learned of the duo’s drug trafficking operation from a tipoff in February 2020 and launched an investigation. The investigation mainly focused on the sale of drugs by the two men through Telegram.
On 20 July 2020, the investigators stopped Warsame while he was driving to a Post Office. The investigators reportedly found 61 drug packages in Warsame’s possession. The drug packages were addressed to recipients throughout the United Kingdom.
The investigators arrested Warsme and acquired a search warrant for his vehicle. The search led to the discovery of a remotely controlled hydraulic hiding space in the car. The investigators accessed it and reportedly found and seized a kilogram of heroin and 250 grams of cocaine.
The investigators then executed a search warrant on a safe house in Birmingham. The investigators reportedly found Amar inside the house preparing 20 more drug packages. The search resulted in the seizure of a kilogram of cocaine, 2,000 LSD pills, and cutting agents The investigators also seized mobile phones, cryptocurrency wallets, laptops, labeling and packaging materials and equipment, and an undisclosed amount of cash.
Amar was consequently arrested and a search warrant executed on his apartment. The search led to the seizure of two cryptocurrency wallets, electronic devices, and an undisclosed amount of cash.
The duo’s arrest reportedly resulted in the seizure of a total of £32,850 in cash and more than £71,038 in crypto. An analysis of the duo’s crypto wallets led to the discovery that the duo had received more than £3.7million from their buyers.
Amar and Warsame were charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and offenses under the Proceeds of Crime Act. They both pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and one count of acquiring criminal property.
On April 28, 2021, Amar was sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison at the Birmingham Crown Court while Warsame was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison.
Detective Sergeant Damian Hill:
“Amar and Warsame mistakenly believed that they could act with impunity carrying out this multi-million-pound drug enterprise online. My team worked closely with the Met’s Economic Crime Team and the Cyber Crime Unit who have the capability to tackle the organized crime of this type carried out over the dark web and social media apps. Anyone considering ordering illegal drugs online using cryptocurrencies should be aware they are not doing this anonymously and are at risk of prosecution as well as leaving themselves vulnerable to the organized criminal networks to whom they have provided their names and home addresses to.”
Jehanzeb Amar, 29, and Salahydin Warsame, 29, were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court for their roles in the conspiracy to distribute large quantities of heroin, cocaine, MDMA, and LSD through the darkweb and Telegram under the ‘LetsWork’ username.
The duo had reportedly set up a bot to automate drug sales on Telegram. The bot received orders, kept the duo’s clients updated, and even apologized for late deliveries caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Amar and Warsame | The Met
The Metropolitan Police learned of the duo’s drug trafficking operation from a tipoff in February 2020 and launched an investigation. The investigation mainly focused on the sale of drugs by the two men through Telegram.
On 20 July 2020, the investigators stopped Warsame while he was driving to a Post Office. The investigators reportedly found 61 drug packages in Warsame’s possession. The drug packages were addressed to recipients throughout the United Kingdom.
The investigators arrested Warsme and acquired a search warrant for his vehicle. The search led to the discovery of a remotely controlled hydraulic hiding space in the car. The investigators accessed it and reportedly found and seized a kilogram of heroin and 250 grams of cocaine.
The investigators then executed a search warrant on a safe house in Birmingham. The investigators reportedly found Amar inside the house preparing 20 more drug packages. The search resulted in the seizure of a kilogram of cocaine, 2,000 LSD pills, and cutting agents The investigators also seized mobile phones, cryptocurrency wallets, laptops, labeling and packaging materials and equipment, and an undisclosed amount of cash.
Amar was consequently arrested and a search warrant executed on his apartment. The search led to the seizure of two cryptocurrency wallets, electronic devices, and an undisclosed amount of cash.
The duo’s arrest reportedly resulted in the seizure of a total of £32,850 in cash and more than £71,038 in crypto. An analysis of the duo’s crypto wallets led to the discovery that the duo had received more than £3.7million from their buyers.
Amar and Warsame were charged with conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and offenses under the Proceeds of Crime Act. They both pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and one count of acquiring criminal property.
On April 28, 2021, Amar was sentenced to 13 years and six months in prison at the Birmingham Crown Court while Warsame was sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison.
Detective Sergeant Damian Hill:
“Amar and Warsame mistakenly believed that they could act with impunity carrying out this multi-million-pound drug enterprise online. My team worked closely with the Met’s Economic Crime Team and the Cyber Crime Unit who have the capability to tackle the organized crime of this type carried out over the dark web and social media apps. Anyone considering ordering illegal drugs online using cryptocurrencies should be aware they are not doing this anonymously and are at risk of prosecution as well as leaving themselves vulnerable to the organized criminal networks to whom they have provided their names and home addresses to.”
