Glendale Man Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Participating in Darknet Drug Trafficking Organization

LOS ANGELES – A Glendale man was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison for participating in a darknet-based organization – known as “NoLove” – that trafficked methamphetamine and Ecstasy both inside and outside of the United States and for laundering the outfit’s drug proceeds by exchanging bitcoin into U.S. dollars.

Arbi Setaghaian Sangbarani, 41, was sentenced by United States District Judge André Birotte Jr.

At the conclusion of a five-day trial in December 2023, a jury found Sangbarani guilty of one count of conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and MDMA, commonly known as Ecstasy. The jury also found Sangbarani guilty of one count of money laundering conspiracy and two counts of money laundering.

From at least April 2019 to May 2020, Sangbarani was a member of a darknet drug trafficking organization that sold, packaged, and mailed methamphetamine and MDMA to numerous customers in the United States and internationally. He conspired with several members of the darknet drug trafficking organization known as “NoLove.” NoLove operated for around a year and a half and shipped drugs internationally and across the United States.

As part of the conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and MDMA, Sangbarani and his co-conspirators obtained methamphetamine and MDMA from sources of supply; stored methamphetamine and MDMA to be packaged at a residence in the Sunland-Tujunga area of Los Angeles; managed the sales of meth and MDMA on the dark web in exchange for virtual currency; and packaged meth and MDMA for distribution to customers who ordered those drugs on the darknet.

Once the packages were complete, Sangbarani and his co-conspirators mailed parcels containing meth and MDMA to customers who ordered the drugs on the dark web.

Sangbarani also conspired to launder the illicit proceeds of the drug trafficking operation. One of Sangbarani’s accomplices collected bitcoin as proceeds from the sale of drugs on the dark web. That co-conspirator then transferred a portion of those virtual currency proceeds to Sangbarani. Sangbarani exchanged the bitcoin into U.S. dollars, transferred the dollars to his bank account, and withdrew the proceeds as cash.

This was the first time the government has introduced evidence involving cryptocurrency tracing for dark web markets in a jury trial in this district. In total, federal prosecutors have secured eight convictions in connection with this conspiracy.

In February 2020, at the Sunland-Tujunga residence, law enforcement seized found approximately 6,701 suspected MDMA pills and approximately 22.2 kilograms (48.9 pounds) of methamphetamine from a shed on the property.

The FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, and the United States Postal Inspection Service investigated this matter.

Assistant United States Attorneys Joseph S. Guzman and Alexandra M. Michael, both of the General Crimes Section, prosecuted this case.