Police describe the case as first of its kind because of the sophisticated use of technology to sell class A drugs

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

A drug dealer who sold substances including the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl on the dark web has been jailed for more than 13 years.

In what was described by police as the first case of its kind because of the sophisticated use of technology, Ross Brennan, 28, was sentenced for conspiring with his university friend Aarron Gledhill, 30, to import and sell class A drugs.

York crown court heard that Brennan, who continued to sell drugs despite knowing that some of his customers had died, sold substances including fentanyl, which is 100 times more potent than heroin.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Ross Brennan Photograph: North Yorkshire Police/PA

Brennan, who “masterminded” the scheme, was said to have “exploited” Gledhill, sending him drugs from around the world. Gledhill was jailed for three years and nine months.

Brennan set up an “online supermarket” on the dark web and drugs were posted to thousands of online customers who could leave reviews of the service they received. They paid in the online currency bitcoin.

Brennan received the equivalent of around £450,000 during the time he offended, money he spent on watches, gold and drugs.



Sentencing Brennan, Judge Andrew Stubbs QC said: “You, Ross Brennan, are a 21st century criminal, sophisticated, arrogant and sure in the belief that you were untouchable.”

The judge continued: “Instead of using the internet to create, he [Ross Brennan] plumbed its darkest depths to set up a highly successful importation and supply of drugs, hide the proceeds of that crime and use it to satisfy his own deviant sexual desires ... The bitter truth is your computer-based activities have caused real and lasting harm in the outside world.”

Matthew Bean, prosecuting, told the court that some of Brennan’s customers had died but that it could not be proved that drugs supplied by him were to blame. Bean said the defendant was fully aware of the risks but continued selling drugs regardless.

As part of the investigation, North Yorkshire police used recovered Skype conversations between Brennan and Gledhill. In one chat, Brennan said: “I know there are bodies out there on me… if u do thousands n thousands n thousands… you can’t help but fuck up one time maybe”.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Aarron Gledhill Photograph: North Yorkshire Police/PA

Brennan, who experienced mental health problems and drug addiction, boasted of selling 200 bags of drugs “in his sleep” and that delays from suppliers would cost him £1,000 a day.

The offences took place between November 2013 and September 2016. Between June and September 2015 alone, Brennan made 225 separate transactions using a dark website called AlphaBay, which has since been shut down.

Brennan was arrested in 2016 after a tip-off from his stepfather. However, he continued to deal drugs on the dark web while on bail, telling Gledhill he had fooled police by putting on a performance “like Tom Hanks in Castaway”.



Police visited Brennan’s address in York, in September 2016 and the property was searched. Officers found drugs with a street value of tens of thousands of pounds. They also seized a Chemistry for Dummies book, address labels, bags of cutting powder, a mixing machine, a microscope, a set of scales and a number of packages from around the world.

Brennan and Gledhill pleaded guilty to conspiracy to import and supply drugs and money laundering at earlier hearings. Brennan also admitted child pornography charges.

The pair were sentenced via video link. The judge told Gledhill, from Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, that he was “vulnerable and naive” after a motorcycle accident when he was younger and that he had been exploited by Brennan, who he met at the University of Huddersfield.

DI Nichola Holden, who led the investigation for North Yorkshire police, welcomed the “substantial” sentences.

She said: “In what we believe to be the first case of its kind in the UK, Brennan and Gledhill made life-changing sums of money through a sophisticated drugs supermarket on the dark web.

“There’s been a lot of recent media coverage about the devastating effects of fentanyl. It’s an extremely dangerous class-A drug ... I’m confident that Brennan in particular had no doubt about the potential consequences. He was just too greedy, devious and calculating to stop.”

Ian Cruxton, deputy director at the National Crime Agency said: “The threat of synthetic opioids is not new. However, since December 2016, we have seen a number of drug related deaths linked to fentanyl and carfentanyl.

“The NCA has been working with partners, both in the UK and overseas, to take action against those drug dealers who are playing Russian roulette with the lives of their customers by mixing synthetic opioids with heroin and other class-A drugs.”