Former Boise man sentenced to prison for dealing MDMA, ketamine over the darknet
A former Boise man will serve federal prison time after being convicted of selling narcotics over the darknet.
Kevin Marc Crotteau, 25, was sentenced to serve one year and one day in prison, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon. He must also undergo three years of supervised probation once he is released.
Court records show Crotteau pleaded guilty in August 2020 to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. Federal prosecutors said Crotteau sold drugs over the darknet — a part of the internet not found through search engines, and can only be accessed through specialized browsers like Tor.
An investigation began in 2018 when U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents intercepted several packages of drugs sent from France to four Portland addresses. On Aug. 30, 2018, agents with the Department of Homeland Security and officers with the Portland Police Bureau arrested a Portland man, 25-year-old Brandon Bart, when he tried to pick up two of the packages.
A search of Bart’s home yielded eight kilograms of MDMA, also known as ecstasy, and two kilograms of ketamine, a horse tranquilizer used as a hallucinogen. Investigators later learned that the packages were sent to Bart’s addresses by Crotteau.
Oregon law enforcement went to Crotteau’s Boise home and executed a search warrant on Aug. 31, 2018.
During the search, police found Crotteau had recently sold over $108,000 in Bitcoin and deposited the money into a personal bank account. Officials also seized Crotteau’s Tesla car valued at $136,200.
Crotteau was charged in federal court over a year later on Oct. 3, 2019, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office news release. It was not immediately known why it took over a year after Crotteau’s arrest before he was charged.
After his plea in August, Crotteau was sentenced to prison during a virtual court hearing held Monday. Court records show Crotteau will be booked into police custody and released sometime Tuesday in the Eastern District of New York, which covers parts of New York City and Long Island. Crotteau will be transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons to serve his term.
In August 2019, Bart pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances. He was sentenced to five years of probation.
This story was originally published March 23, 2021 at 12:17 PM.
