Episode 066: Gal Vallerius, AKA OxyMonster

Gal Vallerius was a seemingly mild-mannered Frenchman, with a wife and family, living in Paris France. However, behind the scenes, or should we say, behind the screen, Gal was known as “OxyMonster”, one of the most prominent drug dealers on the dark web.    Sources: “Dark web”, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_web, accessed June 17, 2025.  “Dark Web Administrator Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Narcotics Trafficking and Money Laundering”, U.S. Department of Justice Archives, Oct 9, 2018, https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/pr/dark-web-administrator-sentenced-20-years-prison-narcotics-trafficking-and-money-laundering, accessed June 16, 2025  Schaffer, Lisa M., “Underground Drug Trafficker 'OxyMonster' Sentenced to 20 Years”, FindLaw.com, Mar 21, 2019, https://www.findlaw.com/legalblogs/criminal-defense/underground-drug-trafficker-oxymonster-sentenced-to-20-years/, accessed June 16, 2025.  DAILYMAIL.COM REPORTER and ASSOCIATED PRESS, “French 'OxyMonster' drug dealer who was arrested when he arrived in the US for a beard competition is sentenced to 20 years in prison for running a trafficking operation on the dark web”, Dailymail.com, Oct 9, 2018, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-6258439/French-OxyMonster-jailed-20-years.html, accessed June 17, 2025.   Thubron, Rob, “Dark web drug dealer and fan of large beards gets 20-year prison sentence”, TechSpot, Oct 11, 2018, https://www.techspot.com/news/76879-dark-web-drug-dealer-fan-large-beards-gets.html, accessed June 17, 2025.  Schwartz, Drew, “Competitive Beard Grower Admits He Helped Run Massive Dark Web Drug Site”, Vice, June 12, 2018, https://www.vice.com/en/article/competitive-beard-grower-oxymonster-dream-market-pleads-guilty-vgtrn/, accessed June 17, 2025.  “Mustache and Beard Competitions: The Complete Guide”, Beard Growth World, https://www.beardgrowthworld.com/beard-and-mustache-competition/, accessed June 21, 2025.   “Opioids and the opioid crisis – Get the facts”, Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/opioids/get-the-facts.html, accessed June 21, 2025.  “Understanding the Opioid Overdose Epidemic”, CDC, Nov 1, 2024, https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/about/understanding-the-opioid-overdose-epidemic.html, accessed June 21, 2025.