MANHATTAN — On October 23, 2025, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced the prosecution of FireBunnyUSA, a dark web drug trafficking group that laundered over $7.2 million in cryptocurrency while shipping more than 10,000 packages of illegal drugs across the United States.
The group, active from January 2019 to August 2022, distributed cocaine, MDMA, and ketamine from New York and California to all 50 states and Washington, D.C., advertising on multiple dark web marketplaces. Members used encrypted messaging apps such as Wickr and Telegram and laundered proceeds through cryptocurrency exchanges.
Five individuals were convicted in the case: Nan Wu, Peng Peng Tang, Bowen Chen, Zixiang Lin, and Katie Montgomery. On April 3, 2025, 39-year-old Nan Wu pleaded guilty in New York State Supreme Court to second-degree criminal sale of a controlled substance and first-degree money laundering. Wu received a sentence of at least 6 ½ years in state prison, five years of post-release supervision, and forfeiture of roughly 20 bitcoin, 3,297 Monero, and $12,857 in cash.
Investigators executed 11 controlled purchases between June 2021 and August 2022, including a $2,800 purchase of 60 grams of cocaine. Authorities found significant evidence of coordination among the defendants: Zixiang Lin handled logistics, Peng Peng Tang oversaw travel and finances, and USPS employee Katie Montgomery provided insider advice.
After a search of Wu and Tang’s Flushing, Queens apartment in July 2022, FireBunnyUSA temporarily halted operations. Bowen Chen continued the operation in Upland, California until his arrest in August 2022. Seized drugs included cocaine, MDMA, ketamine, psilocybin, heroin, and methamphetamine.
District Attorney Bragg emphasized that the case demonstrates law enforcement’s ability to trace cryptocurrency transactions and investigate criminal activity on the dark web.
