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Man vying for beard prize to plead guilty on drug charges

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MIAMI (AP) — A Frenchman arrested when he arrived in the United States for a world beard-growing championship will plead guilty in federal court on drug charges.

The Miami Herald reports that Gal Vallerius is charged with drug conspiracy and money laundering in South Florida federal court. Investigators say he moderated online sales of cocaine, methamphetamine and oxycodone. He faces at least 20 years in prison. He had an alias of "OxyMonster."

According to a DEA affidavit, Vallerius was detained in Atlanta in 2017 and his laptop seized.

The computer contained the Tor browser, which allows users to conceal their true internet addresses on that network; his log-in credential for Dream Market, the eBay-type marketplace for illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia; and $500,000 worth of the digital currency bitcoin.