Dark Web Mushroom Dealers Arrested; Assets Seized

12/09/2022Darknet News, USA

The head of a narcotics ring that distributed psychedelic mushrooms across the country was recently given a term in federal court in Columbus, Ohio. On Wednesday, the Southern District of Ohio’s attorney.

James Verl Barlow, 45, of Las Vegas, was given a three-year prison term after admitting to conspiring to possess hallucinogenic mushroom analogue with the intent to distribute it. According to U.S. authorities, his brother, 36-year-old Matthew Taylor Barlow of Murray, Utah, was also sentenced to seven months in jail and six months on house arrest.

The two were among a group of 12 defendants charged with trafficking hallucinogenic mushrooms as powder and liquid on the dark web. The Barlows sent the drugs from Gulf Breeze, Florida, Las Vegas, Memphis, and other locations to consumers in the United States and Europe via a network of individuals in Nevada, Utah, and Maryland. According to court documents from the case, at least one person from Columbus was among the purchasers of the mushrooms.

“Perfect Shrooms” and “Trip With Science”

The organization sold the narcotics for $20 per order on the dark web under the names “TRIPWITHSCIENCE” and “PERFECTSHROOMS.” According to Parker, James Barlow also managed the money laundering for the mushroom sales. According to the Central Ohio Cyber Drug Task Force, the Barlow gang was linked to the sale of at least 3,515 kg of mushrooms.

Parker claimed that in addition to the two Barlows’ prison sentences, authorities seized at least $12 million from the drug sales in the form of real estate, cryptocurrency worth millions of dollars, more than $500,000 in cash, and a Tesla Model-X Wagon. A $1.5 million tract of land in Brighton, Colorado was also taken by the government.

The prosecution or defense of the other 10 individuals Parker claimed were involved in the drug operation run by the Barlows’ were not disclosed.