Online drug dealer betrayed by poor opsec pleads guilty to importing molly
Massachusetts man bought methylone from a sketchy Chinese online vendor.
by Cyrus Farivar - Sep 2, 2015 10:03 pm UTC
Further Reading
How a drug dealer’s IP was found out by package tracking
(Suspect routinely checked tracking on shipments of methylone from China)
A Massachusetts drug vendor who bought methylone (also known as "molly") from China and was busted by the digital trail he left on the USPS tracking website has pleaded guilty to four drug-related charges.
Harold Bates was charged back in March 2014 with conspiracy to import methylone, importation of methylone, and possession with intent to distribute methylone, among other crimes.
According to a Tuesday court filing, Bates admitted to the top three charges, including the primary accusation of importing methylone, and one count of possession by an inmate in prison of a prohibited object.
In April 2015, the judge in the case ruled against Bates in his attempt to suppress evidence seized in those packages.
The judge’s memorandum and order explains that postal investigators found 500 grams of a substance that turned out to be methylone in a package to be delivered in Hollywood, Florida. That statement could suggest that investigators found the suspicious package first and then manually checked IP logs to see if anyone had been searching for tracking information. Once they located Bates’ IP address, they may have checked to see if it had been used to search for other packages.
But in the January 2015 affidavit, United States Postal inspector Stephen Dowd seems to imply that this link happened in a more automated fashion.
As he wrote, "The USPS database reflected that an individual using a computer or other device with IP address 75.67.6.214 accessed the USPS Track 'n Confirm website to track the progress of both the Florida Parcel and Bates Parcel #1."
Bates faces up to 20 years on each of the three methylone charges, and 10 years for the possession charge, but he likely will serve substantially less.
He will be sentenced in federal court in Boston on December 10.
