A sting op set up by undercover federal agents has landed 19-year-old Jesse William Korff in handcuffs. Korff, from LaBelle, Fla., was arrested over the weekend for allegedly selling two vials of a toxin called abrin to law enforcement agents for $2,500, paid in Bitcoins and cash.
The undercover agents — one from the FBI and one Homeland Security Investigations — said they initially contacted Korff through an online site for illicit goods called BlackMarket Reloaded (BMR), according to a criminal complaint released by a federal prosecutor Tuesday.
Federal agents say he stored the deadly liquid poison in two vials. He then inserted the vials into hollowed out candles, covered the holes with wax, placed the candles in a McDonald's bag and left the bag at a rest stop 40 minutes from his home in Florida, awaiting pick up.
See also: Exclusive: Inside the World of a Silk Road Drug Dealer
"He allegedly peddled the poison on a virtual black market of illegal and dangerous goods, hidden in the shadow of a secretive computer network favored by cybercriminals," U.S. Attorney Paul Fishman said in a statement. "Had this been an actual sale to a real customer, the consequences could have been tragic."
Each of the two vials of arbin contained "enough to kill a 440-pound human," Korff allegedly told investigators through a secure messaging service, and administering the toxin "is as simple as pouring it in a drink or sandwich bun."
"[D]eath will look like a really bad case of the flu; they will start to show symptoms within 48 hours and be hospitalized by 72 and be dead shortly thereafter," Korff allegedly wrote, "and no doctor will suspect foul play so there will most likely be no autopsy but if there is nothing will show up."
Investigators said they first contacted Korff in November, inquiring about the arbin through BMR's private messaging system. Before it voluntarily shut down in December, BMR was one of the most popular black markets on the deep web and a main competitor to Silk Road, when it was in its heyday.
The following chart, posted on BMR's forums in April 2013 by the site's anonymous owner "backopy," supposedly details the growth of BMR's trade volume (in dollars).

Image: BlackMarket Reloaded
Korff is said to have had a vendor profile on the site, which authorities likened to an eBay or Amazon for contraband such as "biological agents, toxins, chemicals, firearms, ammunition, explosives, controlled substances and counterfeit goods." Like Silk Road and other deep web black markets, users can only access BMR using Tor, a software that allows for anonymous web browsing.
After about two months of back-and-forth messaging, the undercover agents and Korff allegedly arranged a transaction. The agents would pay most of the $2,500 in advance with Bitcoins and leave the rest in cash at the drop site.
"I put it in a candle by carving a hole and putting the glass vial that contains the liquid in the hole and then I melt the wax I dug out and pour it over the vial and make a flat surface in the top so it looks like a regular candle," Korff allegedly wrote. "[T]here are really no precautions to take when handling the candle, even if you dropped the candle the vial inside would not break because it is encased in wax and because the vials are very tough."
Federal agents staked out the rest stop in Fort Meyers, where Korff said he would drop the hidden poison vials. On Jan. 15, the agents saw him drop the McDonald's bag with the two candles, and they later saw him go back and pick up the cash and drive away in his 1991 Buick Park Avenue sedan, according to court documents.
Korff was arrested at his home three days later. He is charged with possession and transfer of a toxin for use as a weapon and smuggling goods from the U.S. (the undercover agent told Korff he would be taking the drugs to Canada).
It's not yet clear why Korff would agree to drop off the abrin in person. Generally, online black market transactions occur at a distance, with the buyer sending Bitcoins and the vendor shipping the product through the mail.
Additionally, midway through the two-month transaction, the agents stopped communicating with Korff through BMR's messaging system and switched to a separate secure messaging service. In the criminal complain, the agents didn't write why this switch occurred, nor did they specify the latter communication medium.
This local news report shows footage from Korff's Florida home and has more information about the poison abrin. We've also embedded the full criminal complaint below.
Korff is being held in custody in Florida until his official detention hearing Friday. He will eventually face charges in New Jersey, where investigators built their case against him.
Jesse William Korff Criminal Complaint

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