B.C. man awaiting extradition to U.S. for alleged dark web drug and money laundering operation

A West Vancouver man is waiting extradition to the United States after police linked the deaths of two American naval officers to an alleged dark web drug and money laundering operation in B.C.

Mounties arrested Thomas Michael Federuik on May 24 on a provisional arrest warrant. Paul Anthony Nicholls of Surrey in England was simultaneously arrested in the United Kingdom.

The pair are set to stand trial in the Southern District of Georgia on drug and money laundering offences.

The B.C. RCMP’s Federal Serious and Organized Crime team began investigating an alleged dark web global drug trafficking vendor called “Canada1” in 2017, it said in a Thursday news release.

A U.S. investigation into the fentanyl-related overdose deaths of two Navy petty officers in October traced the toxic substance to the vendor, which used packaging labelled “East Van Eco Tours,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of Georgia.

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The dark web is accessed through special anonymizing and encryption-enabled browsers that hide the user’s digital footprint, but the B.C. RCMP were able to connect Canada1 to Federuik and Nicholls.

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The Mounties linked Canada1 to a West Vancouver home and intercepted several packages containing fentanyl, police said in the release.

In March 2018, they arrested Federuik and Nicholls at the residence, seized a large quantity of fentanyl, and found mail tracking slips that coincided with the fentanyl packaging material found by U.S. authorities.

Nicolls, whose visa had expired, was deported to the U.K. But because the most serious offences took place the U.S., the U.S. Attorney’s Office is leading the prosecution, police added.

That office alleges Federuik and Nicholls conspired to import drugs from around the world, including China and Hungary, and distributed those drugs to Georgia and other states using the dark web, under business names like East Van Eco Tours and “Bridge City Consulting LLP.”

Their indictment further alleges that a shipment of those drugs packaged by the conspirators travelled from Canada to Kingsland, Ga.,  resulting in the deaths of the two naval officers.

“Upon initiating this investigation, NCIS quickly recognized the incredible benefit of our valued collaboration with U.S. and international law enforcement partners,” said Thomas Cannizzo of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service Southeast Field Office in a news release.

“We are grateful for their extraordinary efforts to bring to justice those responsible for importing and distributing the illicit narcotics that led to the tragic overdose deaths of two U.S. Sailors.”

If convicted, the pair could face a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in a U.S. prison, along with fines of up to US$10 million.