Five University of Manchester students who ran a dark web drug operation worth more than £800,000 have been jailed for up to 15 years. The gang, who compared themselves to Breaking Bad's Walter White, funded a luxury lifestyle with proceeds from selling ecstasy, LSD, and ketamine on the Silk Road marketplace.
Manchester Crown Court heard that ringleader Basil Assaf, 26, a petrochemical engineering student, was sentenced to 15 years and three months. His accomplices, including students of pharmacology, computer science, geology, and marketing, received sentences ranging from seven to 12 years. The group used bitcoin for transactions and boasted of being nominated for 'drug dealer of the year' on the site.
The FBI intercepted the operation, leading to arrests in October 2013. Officers found laptops, cash, drugs, and a baseball bat in their Manchester flat. The judge noted the 'intelligent and personable' students caused misery through class A drugs, and cited the dark web as an aggravating factor.
