Bitcoin trader and film technician plead guilty to online drug dealing in Dublin

A bitcoin trader and a film technician were involved in an online global operation described as “a new era in drug dealing”, a court heard.

Neil Mannion and Richard O’Connor, both aged 34, were charged with possessing drugs worth €143,000 after a Garda raid on a business premises in south Dublin in October 2014.

Det Sgt Brian Roberts compared the operation of selling drugs on the ‘dark net’ to eBay or Amazon: “It’s a new phenomenon that’s growing and ultimately the modern era of drug dealing.”