April 17 (UPI) -- A Georgia man on Tuesday was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for his role in a U.S.-based gun trafficking ring that sold firearms to customers in other countries via the dark web.
Sherman Jackson, 28, of Atlanta, will also serve two years of probation after his prison term.
According to prosecutors, Jackson created an online vendor page titled "CherryFlavor" on a darknet retail website. He and his cohorts filled orders from overseas customers through domestic websites offering gun owners an online venue to sell firearms.
"The defendants then sold firearms to international buyers at extremely marked-up prices," the Justice Department said in a statement. "For example, the defendants sold a Glock pistol for as much as $3,400 -- a firearm normally sold for approximately $500."
Transactions were conducted using Bitcoin and firearms were shipped overseas inside electronic equipment.
More than 70 firearms were sold to 14 countries through CherryFlavor. Most orders went to European countries with restrictive gun control laws, including Austria, Britain Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland and Netherlands. Other countries included Kazakhstan, Russia, Australia and Zambia.
Three other Georgia men were previously sentenced for the online gun scheme.
Gerren Johnson, 29, received two years and nine months in prison and Brendan Person, 29, received two years and three months. Each man pleaded guilty to smuggling firearms in January.
William Jackson, 29, pleaded guilty to smuggling goods in October and received two years probation.
