'OxyMonster' From France Caught En Route To Beard Contest

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MIAMI (AP) - A Frenchman arrested when he arrived in the United States for a world beard-growing championship has pleaded guilty in Miami federal court to drug charges.

The pleas were entered Tuesday at a hearing by 36-year-old Gal Vallerius to drug distribution conspiracy and money laundering charges. Vallerius admitted he sold and then orchestrated online sales of cocaine, methamphetamine, fentanyl, oxycodone and others using the alias "OxyMonster."

The Drug Enforcement Administration says Vallerius was under investigation when he was detained in Atlanta in 2017 while en route to the World Moustache and Beard Championships in Austin, Texas. He had entered the full-beard category.

Authorities say Vallerius used a browser that conceals a user's true identity and was part of the Dream Market, a large online marketplace for illegal narcotics and drug paraphernalia.