Jail for Shefford man who was part of a gang selling fake prescription drugs on the dark web

A Shefford man who was part of a gang selling fake prescription drugs worth more £20million on the dark web has been jailed for more than nine years.

Christopher Kirkby, 35 – along with Thomas Durden, 36, and Marc Ward, 36 – sold drugs such as Xanax and other benzodiazepines and blew the money on Dom Perignon, Cristal and Bollinger Champagne, bragging about their lavish lifestyles on social media.

The trio flashed their trips to fancy restaurants and nightclubs in posts on their Instagram pages.

Kirkby posted a picture of a £1,250 bottle of Crystal Rose during a visit to the upmarket Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge, west London, that saw their total bill reach £1,679 in June 2017.

Under the name ‘HulkedBenzoBoss’, Ward flogged the counterfeit pills – leaving some who bought them addicted to the "highly dangerous substances" if not prescribed properly, police said.

When correctly prescribed, the drug is used to treat anxiety and panic disorders, however it is often abused by those seeking its sedative effects. Although widely used legally in the US, it is available only on prescription in the UK.

An initial investigation by Pfizer Global Security, which previously manufactured the drug, started in June 2016 when a number of test purchases were made showing Ward was operating behind the Darknet vendor name ‘HulkedBenzoBoss’ and the case was passed to police in early 2017.

While operating as ‘HulkedBenzoBoss’, Ward supplied a minimum of 22,843 deals of the fake Xanax tablets and other class C drugs, police said.

An estimated £2,157,700 in Bitcoin was collected by Ward from the Darknet markets and deposited into three main cryptocurrency wallets.

Ward was arrested in June 2017 by officers coming out of a house in Havant, Hampshire, on suspicion of supplying a controlled drug of class C between June 2016 and June 2017, and on suspicion of money laundering.

Evidence from the property showed his involvement in a wider conspiracy over the production of counterfeit Xanax, police said.

While Ward was in custody, the organised crime detectives shut down their ‘lab’ in a lock-up in Gravesend, Kent, in order to reinvent themselves on the Darknet, trading as AchlysUK.

Charlton Pascal, 30, joined the conspiracy under the orders of Kirkby and attended the ‘lab’ to collect items from Durden.

Pfizer conducted a series of purchases and discovered Pascal was operating behind the Achlysuk identity.

A pill press was moved on June 20, 2017, to Shefford, Bedfordshire, and the following month, transferred to the control of John Turner, 49, in Devon.

Raids were carried out at the properties of Durden, Kirkby and Pascal’s properties four months later and each was arrested on suspicion of being involved in the conspiracy.

Cryptocurrency to the value of £1.3million was seized from Durden and Turner was arrested on February 13, 2019, on suspicion of involvement in the conspiracy.

At Portsmouth Crown Court on Friday (March 31), Ward, of Fratton, Portsmouth, was jailed for five years and Durden, of Dartford, Kent, was sentenced to six years and five months in prison.

Kirkby, of Angle Green, Shefford, was handed a total of nine years, six months inside.

Ward pleaded guilty to conspiring together to supply class C drug, Alprazolam, in December last year.

He also pleaded guilty to a number of other offences at a previous court hearing, including offering to supply Dihydrocodeine and Codeine Phosphate, which are class B drugs.

Two other charges of offering to supply Diazepam and Zopiclone, which are both class C drugs, and acquiring criminal property and converting criminal property were admitted by Ward.

Durden and Kirkby also admitted a further count each of conspiracy to supply Alprazolam and converting criminal property and Pascal a count of acquiring criminal property.

Pascal, of Luton, Bedfordshire, and Turner, of Cullompton, Devon, pleaded guilty to conspiring together to supply class C drug, Alprazolam in December last year.

Detective Superintendent Neil Cripps, a senior investigating officer at the South East Regional Organised Crime Unit (SEROCU), revealed the details of the five-year investigation.

He said: "This organised crime group worked to set up a ‘business’ to act as a cover, producing and supplying counterfeit Xanax and other class C drugs on a commercial scale with a street value in excess of £20 million.

"Their actions subsequently had a devastating impact on those who purchased the drugs for casual use and found themselves addicted to what are highly dangerous substances if not prescribed by a medical professional and used correctly. As with all illegal drugs, there is always an inherent danger to those who take them.

"The South East Regional Organised Crime Unit worked closely with Pfizer Global Security on this case to ensure those responsible for these serious offences were brought before a court to account for their actions.

"Our five-year investigation has subsequently resulted in significant prison sentences for those whose sole aim was to profit from others’ misery.

"If you become aware of the supply of drugs in your community, please contact your local police force on the non-emergency number 101.

"We will continue our work disrupting and tackling serious and organised crime across the communities of the South East."

Pascal and Turner will be sentenced at a hearing at the same court in May.

A proceeds of crime investigation is currently ongoing, where authorities will try and seize some of the cash made by the gang.