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An Irving woman who sold date-rape drugs online was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Friday.
Authorities say Hyun Ji Martin, 40, was selling gamma-hydroxybutyric acid (GHB), commonly known as the “date rape drug,” on the dark web, which refers to a corner of the internet accessible only through a special browser.
In November 2020, officers with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service Parcel Task Force saw Martin deliver 15 packages to an Irving post office, according to a press release from the U.S. attorney’s office for the Northern District of Texas.
Officers kept two parcels to investigate and found a clear liquid — which they suspected was GHB or a similar compound, gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) — concealed in contact lens solution bottles.
In June 2021, officers executed a search warrant at Martin’s apartment in Irving, where they found GHB, GBL, methamphetamine, USPS shipping supplies, contact lens solution bottles and equipment to convert GBL to GHB.
Martin told officers that she routinely ordered GBL from China, converted some of it to GHB, and sold both on the dark web, according to the press release.
Agents eventually identified more than 1,600 outgoing parcels associated with Martin, mostly mailed from fake names and addresses.
Martin pleaded guilty in August 2021, then absconded, according to the press release. The attorney’s office did not provide details about her location.
Martin was arrested again in June 2022 and transported to North Texas for sentencing.
“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will not stop in pursuing those who wish to flood our streets with dangerous drugs,” Thomas Noyes, who leads the Postal Inspection Service’s Fort Worth division, said in the news release.