Former Chicago Drug Treatment Worker Sentenced to Six Years in Prison for Distributing Heroin via the Internet

          A 47-year-old Chicago man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to six years in prison for distributing a controlled substance, announced U.S. Attorney Annette L. Hayes. KEVIN C. CAMPBELL marketed and sold various drugs, such as ecstasy, marijuana, steroids, and prescription drugs, such as Xanax and valium, using the dark web. In August 2013, CAMPBELL sold heroin and prescription medications to a 27-year-old Bellevue, Washington, man who died after shooting up with heroin. U.S. District Judge John C. Coughenour ordered CAMPBELL to serve three years of supervised release following prison.

          According to records filed in the case, emergency crews were called to a home in Bellevue in August 2013, when a house guest found the 27-year-old man unconscious in his bedroom, surrounded by evidence of recent heroin use. On the computer in front of him was the ‘Silk Road’ website, an online black market where illegal goods and services were anonymously marketed and sold. On the screen were messages from a vendor, later determined to be CAMPBELL’s online identity. The investigation revealed that CAMPBELL was a drug dealer on the dark web site, sending prescription drugs and other illegal substances to customers across the country who ordered online and paid via Bitcoin. CAMPBELL concealed and delivered the drugs in altered DVD cases sent via the U.S. mail. One DVD case recovered near the deceased man’s body was found to have CAMPBELL’s fingerprint on it. Even after the Silk Road website was shut down by law enforcement, CAMPBELL continued to sell drugs to customers, in one instance sending Xanax pills to a customer in Colorado who was working with law enforcement. In May 2014, law enforcement obtained a warrant to search CAMPBELL’s Chicago home and found evidence of his drug trafficking, including a small amount of drugs, digital scales, notes, empty DVD cases, and shipping materials. The investigation revealed that CAMPBELL did not typically distribute heroin before selling to the Bellevue man and ceased selling heroin after the death.

          The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Bellevue Police Department, and the Eastside Narcotics Task Force. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Steven Masada.