Particle.news
Download on the App Store
3 ARTICLES
·
2mo ago

British Man Convicted in Georgia Over Vancouver Dark-Web Drug Operation Linked to Two U.S. Navy Deaths

An RCMP-led investigation connected Canada1 shipments from Vancouver to fatal overdoses in Georgia.

Paul Anthony Nicholls, 47, was living in Vancouver, B.C., in 2017
Image
A British man who lived in Vancouver has been convicted in the U.S. of drug trafficking on the dark web, selling substances that led to the overdose deaths of two U.S. navy men.

Overview

  • Paul Anthony Nicholls, 47, was found guilty on Jan. 29 of conspiracy to import and to distribute controlled substances resulting in death after a four-day jury trial in the Southern District of Georgia.
  • The case stemmed from an RCMP dark-web probe of Canada1, a Vancouver-based vendor on the now-defunct Dream Market that advertised fentanyl analogues and U-47700.
  • Investigators intercepted more than 40 packages labeled with the shell company East Van ECO Tours and found fentanyl analogues in nasal spray and powder form.
  • A search recovered receipts with tracking numbers for thousands of shipments, including two sent to Kingsland, Georgia, where the 2017 fatalities occurred.
  • Sentencing has not been scheduled, and U.S. authorities say Nicholls faces at least 20 years per count and could receive life without parole.