International drug dealer jailed for nine years in Norwich

Donatas Kasputis, 35, of Breckland Road in Costessey, pleaded guilty to several class A and B drug charges at Norwich Crown Court on Wednesday. 

Detectives identified 76kg of illegal drug sales, including cocaine, MDMA (ecstasy) and mephedrone (4-MMC, MCAT) over 14 months, between May 2022 and July 2023.

READ MORE: HUGE cannabis factory found in city home during police raid

The cyber investigations team at the East Midlands Special Operations Unit (EMSOU) began investigating the usernames ‘Beatyhouse2015’ and ‘Goodgear’ after they became active on several dark web marketplaces.

They identified names and addresses of more than 550 drug buyers who had been using ‘Goodgear’, a username which had moved from Lincolnshire to Norfolk.

On 14 occasions over a 24-day period, a total of 174 parcels were dispatched, often between 10 and 30 packages daily.

Detectives identified names and addresses of more than 550 drug buyers who had been using ‘Goodgear’ (Image: Norfolk Police)

Detective Inspector Jonathan Naylor, from EMSOU’s regional cyber crime Unit, said: “This man was operating on the dark web and a cloud-based messaging app as an illegal drugs vendor.

"He would receive orders and then dispatch them to buyers both in the UK and internationally."

Kasputis was identified through a DNA profile after the information was shared with international partners.

In July 2023, he was arrested at a Post Office in Norfolk, with 16 packages containing 4-MMC and a small amount of cannabis.

A CCTV image shows the arrest at a post office in Norfolk in July, 2023 (Image: Norfolk Police)

Searches at his home address in Norwich, supported by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), identified 130g of cocaine, more than 1,300 tablets of MDMA, 6.4kg of mephedrone and just over 1.4kg of cannabis.

READ MORE: Cannabis farm worth £324k found in Dereham Road in Norwich

Kasputis pleaded guilty to two counts of being concerned in the supply of cocaine and MDMA (class A), two counts of being concerned in the supply of mephedrone and cannabis (class B), two counts of possessing with intent to supply cocaine and MDMA (class A) and two counts of possessing with intent to supply mephedrone and cannabis (class B).

On sentencing, Judge David Pugh said Kasputis played a significant role, due to his destruction of evidence.

DI Naylor, added: “Similar to other types of cybercrime, the use of the internet and dark web allows individuals to sell to a much wider market, crossing county and country borders, which would normally require much larger organised crime groups.

“Our joint investigation, supported by the National Crime Agency (NCA) and ERSOU, really demonstrated a Team Cyber UK approach to international investigation and enabled us to identify the scale and extent of Kasputis’ activity."