A drug ring leader operating out of Fort Bend County who used the dark web and crypto currency in to distribute drugs was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison on Thursday.

Alaa Mohammed Allawi, 30, was handed the sentence for distributing approximately 245 kilograms of fentanyl, cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone and Xanax. The distribution of fentanyl-laced oxycodone pills, through the use of the dark web and crypto currency, resulted in the overdose death of a U.S. Marine, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Allawi’s stash house in Fort Bend County was raided in May 2017 after investigators traced drugs distributed on the University of Texas at San Antonio campus to him. The total number of pills distributed on the dark web by Allawi during his scheme is estimated to be around 850,000, and some users purchased pills from him using cryptocurrency like Bitcoin and Ethereum.

“This case illustrates many of the emerging threats that law enforcement is confronting. Allawi and his co-conspirators manufactured and distributed oxycodone laced with deadly fentanyl – over 350,000 such pills – to people suffering from opioid addiction, targeting a college campus here in San Antonio,” U.S. Attorney John F. Bash said. “

At least one victim – a United States Marine – died from a fentanyl overdose, and at least two others suffered non-fatal overdoses. The co-conspirators attempted to conceal their activities by operating through the dark web and using seven different crypto-currencies. I am proud of our office and the law enforcement partners who uncovered and destroyed this conspiracy. Thirty years in federal prison is a just sentence for this despicable conduct.”

Allawi came to the U.S. in 2012 from Iraq. He served as a translator to the U.S. Department of Defense which helped him earn an SQ1 visa.

“Today’s sentencing of Allawi is an indication of the sophistication and callousness with which Allawi conducted his illegal drug activities. From his use of the dark web to his clandestine manufacturing of counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, to his drug sales targeting college students, Allawi operated with little concern for the people in our communities,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Will Glaspy.

The two marines who purchased the drugs from Allawi and gave them to the to 20-year-old Corporal Mark M. Mambulao, who died from the overdose, were also charged with distribution.