Iraqi immigrant who used darknet, cryptocurrency for drug trafficking gets 30 years, pro…

An Iraqi immigrant was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in federal prison for using the deep web and cryptocurrency to operate a massive drug trafficking ring from Texas, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.

Alaa Mohammed Allawi, 30, pleaded guilty in June to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl resulting in death and serious bodily injury, possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and conspiracy to commit money laundering.

Alaa Mohammed Allawi served as an Iraqi interpreter to the U.S. Department of Defense before he was granted entry into the U.S. in 2012 on a special visa. 

A former Iraqi interpreter for the Department of Defense, Allawi was granted entry to the U.S. in 2012 on an SQ1 visa.

Allawi began his illicit enterprise in 2015 by selling fake prescription pills to college students around the University of Texas at San Antonio, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release. He eventually expanded his business into…