Four Los Angeles County men were arrested Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Federal prosecutors accused the man of operating 10 virtual stores across 17 different dark web marketplaces from September to February 2018, the department said in a statement. Vendors included names such as Joyinc, Lafarmacia, Whitedoc.
The three 35-year-old men from Glendale and the 43-year-old Sherman Oaks, were charged April 1, with 116 people being charged with explicit conduct, promoting allegations of conspiracy, authorities said.
The agents also allegedly discovered a large amount of cash and drug allegations while providing several search warrants, but the Department of Justice refused to provide further details about their activities and seizures, saying the information was sealed.
The Men – Davit Avalyan, Hrant Gevorgyan, Hayk Grigoryan and Gurgen Nerseyan pleaded not guilty on Wednesday. If convicted, each could face life in prison.
The indictment alleges that the man sold cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA (also known as ecstasy), ketamine in exchange for cryptocurrency, and then used the US Postal Service to supply the drug.
JoyInc Marketplace is “one of the most prolific methamphetamine and cocaine distributors to date,” the Justice Department said in a statement.
A screenshot of the market shared by DOJ in the statement showed cocaine available for bulk purchases from Joyinc on the dark website Drughub. It also promoted MDMA “directly from Europe” and ketamine for $435.
The arrest was part of an effort by the Department of Justice that “an increase in illegal vendors operating on the darknet will provide thousands of people across the United States with many harmful substances operating on the darknet.”
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