A Manhattan man has been busted after allegedly attempting to buy ricin, a lethal substance derived from castor oil seeds, from a federal agent through an illicit marketplace on the so-called Dark Web.
Cheng Le, 21, was arrested on December 23 for allegedly messaging an undercover FBI agent through a Dark Web-affiliated website, expressing interest in obtaining between three and five doses of the toxin for resale to at least one buyer. According to an indictment unsealed yesterday, Le told the agent that if the ricin is good, he's got "buyers lining up," and how great it is for committing unsolvable murder: “I probably told you this before, about mixing one and only one toxic pill into a bottle of normal pills. They all look identical. And as the target takes the medicine every day, sooner or later he’d ingest that poisonous pill and die. Even if there is a murder investigation, they won’t find any more toxin. 100% Risk Free," he wrote. Indeed. He also offered the following:
“I’ll be trying out new methods in the future. After all, it is death itself we’re selling here, and the more risk-free, the more efficient we can make it, the better.”
and
“Also, besides that one bottle of pills with one poisonous pill in there, can you send some extra loose powder/liquid ricin? I’d like to test something.”
Officials went ahead and sent a box of phony ricin to a Manhattan PO box, and then watched as Le collected the package wearing latex gloves, a precaution that a postal worker confirmed he'd seen Le take before. The Feds found the package opened in Le's apartment shortly thereafter.
U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara issued a standard admonishing statement decrying Le's character, but Assistant Director-in-Charge George Venizelos offered this dramatic, pun-laden take: “In the shadows of the Dark Web, criminals hide behind a veil of anonymity, sniffing out hidden opportunities to buy and sell illegal and potentially dangerous merchandise. As alleged, in this case, activity carried out in the marketplace served as a conduit for Le to obtain ricin. In his desire to acquire this potentially deadly toxin, he picked his own poison and now faces the consequences of the justice system.”
Le is expected to be arraigned on January 23.
