Dark Web drug vendor and clandestine lab manufacturer sentenced to prison for trafficking in methamphetamine and fentanyl

MIAMI – On May 17, an Orange County, California, resident, Tenzin Orgil, 24, was sentenced to 168 months in federal prison for participating in a drug trafficking enterprise that included the sale of methamphetamine and fentanyl on the dark web, as well as the manufacture of ecstasy (also known as MDMA) and methamphetamine in clandestine laboratories. Orgil pleaded guilty in July 2023 and was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kathleen M. Williams in the Southern District of Florida. 

According to the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) National Drug Threat Assessment synthetic drugs have resulted in the most dangerous and deadly drug crisis the United States has ever faced.  These synthetic drugs, such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, are responsible for nearly all of the fatal drug poisonings in our nation. Fentanyl killed 38,000 Americans in the first six months of 2023 alone. Just one fentanyl pill can kill. Two milligrams of fentanyl is considered a potentially fatal dose and laboratory testing indicates seven out of 10 pills seized by the DEA contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.

Since at least 2020, until the time of his arrest, Orgil worked under the dark web vendor monikers iEUROPA, iUSA, iAMERICA, UNITEDAIRLINES and SVR667, to distribute large amounts of narcotics via various dark web marketplaces, as well as the peer-to-peer encrypted chat platform, Wickr. Orgil was based in California and sold cocaine, MDMA, heroin, fentanyl, and methamphetamine via the U.S. mail system to customers all over the United States, to include in South Florida. Between 2020 and 2021, through undercover purchases from Orgil via the dark web or Wickr, law enforcement officers in South Florida seized 2.54 grams of fentanyl, in the form of counterfeit oxycodone pills, and 4.965 kilograms of methamphetamine, which was 100% pure. Orgil was also a major manufacturer of MDMA and methamphetamine. He operated numerous clandestine laboratories in California.

Photo of one of Orgil’s dark web vendor pages, included in the Government’s Reply to Defendant’s Response to Motion for Revocation of Magistrate Court’s Order of Bond (DE 15-1)

On Dec. 23, 2022, Irvine Police Department officers in California stopped Orgil while he was driving a vehicle. During a search of his vehicle, Orgil had in his possession several precursor chemicals, obtained from Chinese chemical companies, that are used to produce MDMA, as well as two cellphones. A search of these phones found photos of narcotics, as well as evidence of Orgil’s dark web vendor moniker name of “iBULK” and his access of darknet marketplaces. The search also revealed photos of clandestine laboratories and screenshots of text messages explaining how to manufacture illicit narcotics. Orgil’s phones also revealed that he was in communication with several Chinese chemical manufacturing companies in order to purchase precursor chemicals.

Photo of one of Orgil’s clandestine laboratories, included in the Government’s Response to the Defendant’s Sentencing Memorandum (DE 67).

Photo of Orgil’s text communications regarding drug manufacturing, included in DE 67 

On Jan. 18, 2023, law enforcement agents arrested Orgil and a search warrant was executed at his residence in California. A search of his residence revealed a gun with a loaded magazine, numerous fake identification cards, a recipe for manufacturing methamphetamine, and a computer. A search of his computer revealed photographs of counterfeit blue M30/oxycodone pills with a Dark Market/United Airlines label, bags of methamphetamine with an iUSA label and cocaine with a SVR667 label. Additionally, copies of the mailing labels for the packages sent in the undercover purchases were preserved on Orgil’s computer.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Deanne L. Reuter of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, Special Agent in Charge Jeffery B. Veltri of the FBI, Miami Field Office, Inspector in Charge Juan A. Vargas of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, Special Agent in Charge Matthew D. Line of the IRS Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Miami Field Office and Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami announced the sentence imposed.

DEA Miami Field Division’s Counternarcotic Cyber Investigations Task Force, FBI Miami, USPIS Miami, IRS-CI Miami Field Office and HSI Miami investigated the case with assistance from DEA San Jose, United States Postal Inspection Service San Jose, DEA New England, Massachusetts State Police - Gaming Enforcement Unit, DEA Orange County, DEA Omaha, DEA Forth Worth, Irvine Police Department, and the Costa Mesa Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Monique Botero prosecuted the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicole Grosnoff handled asset forfeiture.

The indictment is a result of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) investigations. The OCDETF mission is to identify, disrupt, and dismantle the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States, using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency task force approach. OCDETF synchronizes and incentivizes prosecutors and agents to lead smart, creative investigations targeting the command-and-control networks of organized criminal groups and the illicit financiers that support them. Additional information about the OCDETF Program may be found at www.justice.gov/OCDETF.

Members of the South Florida High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force carried out this case and prosecution. HIDTA was established in 1990. This program, which is made up of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, fosters intra-agency cooperation among law enforcement agencies in South Florida and involves them in developing a strategy to target the region's drug-related and violent crime threats to public safety, as with the opioid epidemic, fentanyl, and the cocaine threat to our nation. The South Florida HIDTA uses the funding provided by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, out of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, that sponsors a variety of law enforcement initiatives that target the region's illicit drug and violent crime threats to our community.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-20018.

###