Life Sentence for Alphabay Grenade Buyer

~1 min read | Published on 2018-08-10, tagged AlphabaySentencedWeapons using 250 words.

The NCA announced that a man who had attempted to purchase a hand-grenade on the Alphabay darknet market has received a life sentence for attempting to purchase weaponry with intent to endanger a life.
Of course, he had a lengthy rap sheet made up of 36 convictions on 171 different crimes. The attempted grenade purchase was not the sole contributor to receiving a life sentence.

Press Release

Excerpts
On 23 November 2016 [Paul Christian Stellato], using the online profile ‘cocaineking247’, contacted the seller on the now closed-down AlphaBay market, asking if the advertised hand grenades could be delivered to the UK.

He allegedly attempted to cover his tracks:
He also wrote: “No matter what, these are not for terrorism affairs, domestic protection only”.

Pricing
The total cost of the grenades was $370.48 which Stellato paid in bitcoins.

Drug Charges
Northamptonshire Police – who assisted in Stellato’s arrest - investigated and he was charged with eight counts of possession of class A and B, and one count of supplying class B, which he denied.

Detective Inspector Adam Pendlebury, from Northamptonshire Police, said: “A search of Paul Stellato’s property led officers to a vehicle which contained £5,500 worth of cannabis.

“Our investigation revealed his fingerprints on the drugs packaging as well as text messages that indicated he was involved in the supply of drugs.

“Clearly Stellato was involved in supplying drugs in the Brackley area and it’s concerning that he was also attempting to buy grenades. Hopefully today’s sentence will offer some reassurance to the local community.”

The full document can be found here: NCA