OMAHA, Neb. -- 46-year-old Edward Barta of Omaha, was sentenced in federal court on June 24.

According to the report, Barta was charged for possessing firearms as a drug user and received probation for a term of 18 months. There is no parole in the federal system.

Officials said investigators with the Drug Enforcement Administration identified Barta when he made purchases of substances purporting to be oxycodone pills on the dark web using Bitcoin.

Authorities said the investigators seized a package they believed contained oxycodone pills addressed to Barta on December 20, 2019 and then obtained a warrant to search his residence. The search found more pills, a pill grinder, two handguns, and a rifle.

The report said Barta told investigators he ordered 100 oxycodone 30 mg pills from a dark web vendor in exchange for $800 and that he had made approximately 10 prior orders of about 60 to 80 pills per order. Barta reported to the police that he took three pills daily to manage his chronic neck pain.

According to officials, laboratory testing of a sample of the pills found in the investigation revealed that some contained not oxycodone, as advertised by the dark web vendor, but fentanyl and fentanyl 4-ANPP (an analogue of fentanyl). Both are controlled substances.

The report said this case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.