Father and son charged over dark web drugs Published duration 24 August 2017

image copyright Getty Images image caption Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid much more powerful than heroin

A father and son from New York have been accused of selling drugs on a dark web marketplace shut down by law enforcement agencies in July.

Michael Luciano, 58, and Philip Luciano, 29, allegedly sold synthetic opioids fentanyl and oxycodone on AlphaBay before its closure.

The notorious site was targeted by investigators during an international operation earlier this year.

Authorities allege the Lucianos' drug sales date back to February last year.

AlphaBay was quietly taken over by agents earlier this year and later shut down

The pair are said to have traded on AlphaBay using the pseudonym Zane61 and received positive reviews from some customers.

One allegedly wrote: "Fast shipping, great vendor. Good stealth, price, and A+ product."

It was the son, Philip, who allegedly "handled the technological aspects" of the transactions, including the purchase of bitcoins, according to investigators.

"Fentanyl is a societal scourge powerful enough to rob the lives of those who use in an instant," said Philip Bartlett of the US Postal Inspection Service.

"Today's arrest of this father and son should serve as a strong reminder the anonymity of the Dark Web can't always protect you from the long arm of the law."

At the time of AlphaBay's closure, Europol said the seized data would lead to new investigations into users of the marketplace.

The investigation into the Lucianos dates back to before AlphaBay's seizure by authorities, however.