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Malcom Magala, Jerome Omard, and Alain Kirunda-Nsiiro have been sentenced for Class A drug distribution in London.
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The South East Regional Organized Crime Unit (Serocu) tracked the trio via on-chain cryptocurrency transactions, resulting in their arrests, and confiscation of crypto assets and heroin.
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Police commented that this case underscores the ability for dark web activities to be traced and busted.
In recent developments surrounding the dark web space, the Reading Crown Court has sentenced a group of three drug dealers to jail for selling Class A drugs nationwide. According to a BBC report, the group sold the drugs on the dark web using crypto assets.
Law enforcement officers traced Malcolm Magala posing as an online user who, since 2020, sold crack cocaine and heroin on different dark web places. His accomplices, Jerome Omard and Alain Kirunda-Nsiiro sent packages of drugs to clients using a Walthamstow Post Office.
Investigators at Serocu traced crypto payments and customer packages when he was on his way to the post office in July 2022.
Serocu reportedly found 138g of heroin hidden in a portable music speaker, and also found other drugs hidden at other places in his house.
SEROCU Traces Illicit Dark Web Trio
UK-based collaborative unit Serocu said the case shows that authorities can detect illegal activities on the dark web.
Similarly, police officers intercepted Magala, finding him in possession of a crypto hardware wallet and crypto assets worth £3,150. The officers searched his home and found a small pill press, together with small quantities of drug pills.
Kirunda-Nsiiro was arrested a few days following.
UK-Based Court Sentences Drug Trio Group
Shortly after, 37-year-old Magala from Oriel Road, Portsmouth, received an 11-year-and-three-month prison sentence for conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine (Class A drugs) and for obtaining criminal property. Magala pleaded guilty of the charges at an 18 February hearing.
The court sentenced 44-year-old Omard, of Durban Road, Waltham Forest, London, to a four years and six months’ jail time for conspiracy to distribute heroin–Class A drugs–and obtaining criminal property. Omard pleaded guilty at a hearing on 28 August 2024.
The third member of the trio, 39-year-old Kirunda-Nsiiro from Higham Hill Rd, Waltham Forest, London, received a 12-year prison sentence for conspiring to sell Class A drugs, specifically heroin. He was also charged with obtaining criminal property.
Unlike the other group members, Kirunda denied the charges, but the court convicted him after a two-week trial at Reading Crown Court on 1 August 2025.
Detective Inspective Rob Bryant commented on the conspiracy, stating that the group implemented a complicated operation to supply and sell drugs. He noted that busting their operations required a combination of both physical and online investigation techniques.
He noted that the recent busting shows cybercriminals that their actions on the dark web are trackable and that the agency can monitor their activities.
Law enforcement agencies noted that the recent operation revealed how organized use of blockchain tracking and monitoring can uncover even the most complicated dark web drug enterprises.
