North Alabama Man Sentenced to More than 10 Years for Online Drug-Trafficking Conspiracy

BIRMINGHAM - A Madison man who used the internet’s dark markets in an online drug trafficking conspiracy was sentenced on Wednesday, to more than a decade in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Inspector in Charge Adrian Gonzalez and DEA Associate Special Agent in Charge Brad Byerley. 

U.S. District Judge Madeline Hughes Haikala sentenced JOSEPH WILLIAM DAVIS, 26, to 126 months in prison for distributing, possessing with intent to distribute and conspiring to distribute or to possess with intent to distribute more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, more than 40 grams of fentanyl, 2.81 grams of cocaine, and more than 80,000 units of Alprazolam. 

“Federal law enforcement will continue to shine a spotlight on drug dealers operating in the darkest corners of the internet,” Town said. “Federal prison beds await them all.”

“I commend the hard work and countless hours put forth by all of the law enforcement agencies involved,” Gonzalez said. “Together we will continue to be vigilant in identifying and working to prosecute those who illegally utilize the mail while keeping the safety of the American public and our Postal Service employees at the forefront.”

“The successful prosecution of Joseph Davis is a direct result of outstanding partnerships with federal, state, and local law enforcement,” Byerley said.  “It should put others who engage in this type of activity on notice: if you sell drugs, whether on the street corner or online on the dark web, you will face federal charges and a lengthy prison sentence. This sentence in federal prison sends a message of our unending resolve to pursue drug traffickers who wreak havoc in our communities.”

Davis, also known on the internet’s dark markets as OlympusXans, or OX, pled guilty in August to conspiracy to traffic drugs, including fentanyl and methamphetamine, and to possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.  Davis used encrypted internet chats to arrange smuggled shipments of illegal drugs, which he arranged to be delivered via U.S. Mail to addresses in Madison County. 

U.S. Postal Inspectors, the Drug Enforcement Administration, Huntsville-Madison County STAC, and the Cullman County Sheriff's Department investigated the case, which Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Keim prosecuted. 

###