Seattle – A 29-year-old Issaquah, Washington man was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to seven years in prison for drug and gun charges, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown. Nicholas Partlow sold fentanyl, heroin, methamphetamine, and other drugs on the darknet more than 400 times. He also sold drugs locally and possessed five firearms in furtherance of his drug-trafficking activities. After contacts with law enforcement in 2020 and 2021, Partlow continued selling drugs. At the sentencing hearing, U.S. District Judge Richard A. Jones cited a range of aggravating factors in the case, including that Partlow sold fentanyl pills marked to look like prescription painkillers, and that Partlow used the darknet’s “cloak of darkness” to maintain his anonymity.

According to records filed in the case, over the course of 2020, postal investigators seized several parcels that Partlow mailed to his drug customers. Inside, investigators found heroin, fentanyl pills, and other controlled substances. Investigators also covertly ordered drugs from Partlow through his darknet marketplace accounts.

“Fentanyl and heroin continue to be a menace on our streets, but Partlow will not” said Inspector in Charge Anthony Galetti. “He believed he could take advantage of those sickened by addiction for his own profit, however today he learns the true price of the dangerous and deadly narcotics he pedaled into our communities.  I commend the work on the investigators on this case who worked tirelessly to bring Partlow to justice.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Postal Service Office of Inspector General, with assistance from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Homeland Security Investigations, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Bellevue Police Department.