‘You don’t know what you’re getting’: FBI details ease, risks of dark web drug trade following Jacksonville arrests

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It started with a federal raid.

In August, News4JAX was there as federal agents descended on a jewelry store along Sunbeam Road in Jacksonville. Some agents wore protective suits. Others carried rifles.

A short time later, authorities searched a home in St. Johns County.

Then came the arrests.

Federal prosecutors charged Jacksonville brothers Vladislav Chernyshov, 35, and Stanislav Chernyshov, 30, with conspiracy to distribute nitazenes.

But court records revealed something that wasn’t visible from either raid scene.

Prosecutors accuse the brothers of selling counterfeit oxycodone pills through a dark web storefront under the name “BarbaraWhite.” Pills tied to the alleged operation were advertised as “fent free,” according to court records.

Laboratory testing found nitazenes instead.

The case opened a window into a drug market that can operate almost entirely behind a computer screen — connecting buyers and sellers who may never meet and sending illegal drugs through the mail.

So News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee and photojournalist Jesse Hanson took the case to the FBI’s Jacksonville Field Office with a bigger question: How is the dark web changing the way illegal drugs are bought and sold?

Assistant Special Agent in Charge David Kadela could not discuss the specifics of the case involving the Chernyshov brothers, but met with News4JAX to explain how dark web marketplaces operate more broadly, why their ease of use concerns investigators and what buyers may be risking when they place an order.

But Kadela said there is something about these marketplaces that may feel surprisingly familiar: the shopping experience.

“If anyone has shopped online on the internet, then they would be very familiar with the dark web,” Kadela said. “So when you go on the dark web to shop, it’s like using any kind of online marketplace that you would experience in your everyday life, so the ease of use, of course, is a concern for the FBI.”

From ‘BarbaraWhite’ to a much bigger question

Federal court records show the investigation involving the Chernyshov brothers began after a fatal overdose in Arlington, Virginia, in 2023.

The brothers were arrested Aug. 28 and charged with conspiracy to distribute nitazenes.

Prosecutors say Jacksonville brothers Vladislav and Stanislav Chernyshov were selling counterfeit oxycodone pills on the dark web under the name “Barbara White.” (WJXT)

The Drug Enforcement Administration says it has reported 22 unique nitazene compounds since 2020, 21 of which are Schedule I controlled substances.

The DEA has warned that emerging synthetic drugs, including nitazenes, can be mixed into counterfeit pills without the person taking them knowing what is actually inside.

A marketplace that can feel familiar

Kadela described the dark web as a system people can use to mask their identities and remain anonymous on networks such as Tor.

Simply accessing the dark web is not illegal. Kadela said legitimate sites operate there, too.

But he said its anonymous nature can also allow people engaged in criminal activity to mask their identities.

He added that the FBI is particularly concerned about how dark web marketplaces can provide easier access to the illegal drug trade for people who may not have previously had connections to it.

The FBI shows News4JAX how a dark web marketplace can appear on a computer screen. Investigators say these online marketplaces can be used to buy and sell illegal drugs while users attempt to conceal their identities. (Copyright 2025 by WJXT News4JAX – All rights reserved.)

“The dark web allows easier access for newcomers to, you know, the drug trade, if you will,” Kadela said. “So people who may not have connections or groups that they’re a part of that traffic in illegal narcotics. So it is an easier gateway for newcomers to obtain these illegal products.”

Federal investigations into other dark web marketplaces show how closely some have mimicked legitimate online shopping sites.

The Justice Department said Incognito Market, an online narcotics marketplace that operated from 2020 until 2024, was designed with features found on legitimate e-commerce websites, including branding, advertising and customer service.

Users could search thousands of drug listings while operating under usernames. The Justice Department said the marketplace sold more than $100 million in narcotics before it shut down.

In one investigation, an undercover agent purchased tablets advertised as oxycodone through Incognito Market. Laboratory testing showed the tablets contained fentanyl.

From a computer screen to a mailbox

The internet can also eliminate something traditionally associated with an illegal drug transaction: a face-to-face meeting.

“Now, the dark web marketplace that kind of can remove some of those dangers, and you can simply go online, order up what you want, and have it delivered via the mail,” Kadela said.

Kadela told News4JAX that illegal products purchased through these marketplaces can be mailed to an address or post office box.

He also said purchases can be for personal use or distribution.

And the person on the other side of the transaction does not necessarily have to be nearby.

“They’re here locally. They’re in the state of Florida. They’re in the United States. They’re all over the world,” Kadela said. “So really, given the nature of the internet, these marketplaces can be operated from anywhere.”

Are dark web users really anonymous?

Anonymity is one of the reasons people may turn to the dark web, but Kadela said it does not necessarily put someone beyond the reach of investigators.

“Through our investigative activity, we are usually able to identify the folks who are involved,” Kadela said.

Kadela declined to reveal how investigators connect an anonymous online identity to an actual person, including whether information such as IP addresses, names or physical addresses can play a role.

Kadela said FBI field offices have cyber squads and cyber capabilities that investigate these marketplaces and attempt to identify the people operating them and buying illegal items.

Hundreds arrested in global crackdown

The Jacksonville case is one piece of a much larger federal effort targeting illegal dark web marketplaces.

In Operation RapTor, an international law enforcement operation announced in 2025, authorities arrested 270 dark web vendors, buyers and administrators in the United States and several other countries.

Authorities also seized more than $200 million in currency and digital assets, more than two metric tons of drugs, 144 kilograms of fentanyl or fentanyl-laced narcotics and more than 180 firearms.

The Justice Department said evidence and leads obtained through previous marketplace takedowns have helped investigators pursue additional cases.

Kadela told News4JAX the dark web remains an elevated problem and a priority for the FBI. He said investigations are active and law enforcement agencies continue working together on marketplace takedowns around the world.

‘You just don’t know what you’re getting’

For all of the technology involved, Kadela said one of the biggest risks comes down to something much simpler: A buyer may have little way of knowing what is actually inside a pill.

“You just don’t know what you’re getting because you know really oftentimes it’s just someone in their basement who is pressing these pills,” Kadela said. “You don’t know what’s in this pill, so that’s why, if you consume one of these pills, it could kill you. So that’s why it’s such a concern in the FBI, and there’s just no quality control to what you may be receiving.”

The allegations in the Jacksonville case underscore that concern.

Prosecutors say pills associated with “BarbaraWhite” were sold as counterfeit oxycodone and advertised as “fent free.” Laboratory testing found nitazenes.

The DEA advises people not to take pills that were not prescribed to them, to stick to medications dispensed by a licensed pharmacy and that illicit drugs may contain fentanyl or other substances without the person’s knowledge.

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