MIAMI (AP) — A Frenchman who was arrested when he arrived in the U.S. for a world beard-growing championship faces a prison sentence in Miami federal court for online drug trafficking using the alias "OxyMonster."
A sentencing hearing is scheduled Tuesday for 36-year-old Gal Vallerius on drug conspiracy and money laundering convictions, each of which carries a maximum 20-year sentence.
The drugs include online sales worldwide of cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone and fentanyl.
The Drug Enforcement Administration says Vallerius was already under investigation when he was detained in Atlanta in 2017 on his way to the World Beard and Mustache Championships in Austin, Texas.
Court documents say Vallerius used a browser that conceals a user's true identity and was part of the Dream Market, a marketplace for illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia.
Meet Gal Vallerius @vallerius from Bretagne, France #beards#BeardTweet#TBBClubman#fullbeard#longbeard#bald#tattoos#wife#wbmc2015pic.twitter.com/mOC4hcW67x
— TheBritishBeardClub (@tbbclub) June 3, 2017
