A federal jury convicted Janusz Pachomow, a 49-year-old illegal alien who entered the United States from the former Soviet Union in the 1970s, for conspiring to use the mail to distribute drugs including fentanyl, methamphetamine, and ecstasy throughout the country, according to an April 8 announcement in New Bern, North Carolina.
Authorities said Pachomow collaborated with individuals from Europe and Australia by purchasing drugs on the dark web. He used encrypted applications to coordinate shipments of drugs via U.S. Mail. Through an encrypted email account, co-conspirators sent him temporary links containing customers’ names, addresses, and drug orders. Payments were made in cryptocurrency.
Investigators reported that Pachomow’s elderly mother drove him to local post offices where he mailed between three and eighteen packages daily. To avoid detection, he used return addresses of random local businesses near his home; these businesses later received undeliverable items and reported suspicious mailings.
German customs officials intercepted a package addressed to Pachomow that contained over fifteen pounds of ecstasy pills shaped like cartoon characters concealed inside a water heater. Law enforcement searching his home found large quantities of drugs along with paraphernalia such as fentanyl gloves and packing supplies matching those recovered from seized envelopes.
Rodney Hopkins, Inspector in Charge of the Atlanta Division of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), said “the U.S. Postal Inspection Service values our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of North Carolina who helped bring this investigation to a successful conclusion. Illegal shipments of drugs threaten the safety of all our communities. These crimes are a priority for Postal Inspectors and demonstrate the importance of our mission that includes safeguarding of the Postal Service, its customers, and preventing illegal use of U.S. Mail.”
Mark M. Zito, Special Agent in Charge at Homeland Security Investigations Charlotte added: “This verdict reflects the successful collaboration across international borders and agencies to disrupt a criminal enterprise responsible for distributing dangerous drugs to communities nationwide… HSI remains committed to pursuing individuals who exploit online marketplaces and postal system for illicit profit at expense of public safety.”
Ellis Boyle, U.S. Attorney for Eastern District North Carolina announced after Judge Louise W. Flanagan accepted jury’s verdict that USPIS, HSI Frankfurt office as well as Moore County Sheriff’s Office and Aberdeen Police Department investigated case while Assistant U.S Attorneys David G Beraka & Logan Liles prosecuted.
