Dark web drug dealer used NHS logo and called himself Narcotic Health Service
A dealer used the NHS logo to sell Class A drugs on the dark web under the name Narcotic Health Service.
Kurtis Jordan Dunphy has been jailed for an operation supplying LSD, ecstasy, oxycodone, cannabis and Valium-type substances.
The 25-year-old, from Fishponds in Bristol, ran his illegal operation on the hidden Alpha Bay platform with the username Bob Marley Man.
The FBI took down this trading site in July 2017 and passed on details of criminal sellers to the UK’s National Crime Agency.
This data revealed that Dunphy had sold more than 7,000 oxycodone tablets in variously-sized blister packs before the site was removed, Swansea Crown Court heard.
When Dunphy could no longer sell on Alpha Bay, he simply moved to a different platform – the Dream Market – and worked under the same username.
Authorities were not able to access the details of transactions carried out on this site but customer comments confirmed drugs were being bought in more than 1,700 transactions.
Dunphy was eventually busted in February 2019, after the police used a search warrant at a home he was sharing with his partner in Swansea at the time.
The criminal tried to prevent officers from getting hold of any evidence by throwing a glass of water over his open laptop, the court heard.
But this did not work and he was caught while logged into the Dream Market platform, and in possession of 50g of herbal cannabis.
The defendant was also linked to an eBay account called Smoke Essentials UK.
Initially, Dunphy tried to claim he had helped a friend set up the Bob Marley Man profile without realising it was being used to sell drugs but he eventually dropped this story.
His defence lawyer told the court how Dunphy developed a ‘heavy drug habit’ after his life had ‘gone off the rails’ during his first year at university when he struggled with depression.
Dunphy started using drugs and alcohol, including ketamine, and his life became ‘chaotic’.
The barrister said, since his arrest, Dunphy had taken great strides to turn his life around and was doing good work in the community while studying for an MSc in digital marketing in Bristol.
The dealer pleaded guilty to being concerned in the supply of oxycodone, being concerned in the supply of Etizolam, being concerned in the supply of cannabis, being concerned in the supply of alprazolam, being concerned in the making of an offer to supply LSD, being concerned in the making of an offer to supply MDMA – ecstasy – and possession of cannabis with intent to supply.
He has previous convictions for the simple possession of drugs and for drug-driving.
He was sentenced to four years in prison and will serve up to half that period in custody before being released on licence.
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