Dark Web Drug Trafficker Pleads Guilty to Charges Arising out of a Clandestine Drug Lab in a Detroit Residence

DETROIT – Carolyn Hernandez-Taylor pleaded guilty today to conspiring to distribute millions of illicit and counterfeit pills, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced.  

Ison was joined in the announcement by Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Detroit, and Special Agent in Charge Orville Greene, Drug Enforcement Administration, Detroit Field Division.

Carolyn Hernandez-Taylor, 29, of Detroit, admitted her involvement in a conspiracy to distribute illicit substances, a conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, and distribution of counterfeit pills before United States District Judge Linda V. Parker.

According to court records, investigators identified a dark web marketplace that went by the name “opiateconnect.”  Over a months-long investigation, investigators worked to locate the distribution hub for illicit drugs including cocaine and counterfeit drugs.  The counterfeit drugs, made to look like alprazolam, were in fact uncontrolled research chemicals not scheduled for human consumption.    

Investigators determined that “opiateconnect” was operated from a residence in Detroit, Michigan.  A subsequent search warrant revealed a clandestine drug lab.  The search resulted in the seizure of approximately $1,000,000 in cryptocurrency, more than $300,000 in U.S. currency, multiple firearms, an industrial size pill press, industrial mixer, and controlled substances including cocaine and counterfeit drugs.

Hernandez-Taylor pleaded guilty pursuant to a plea agreement to three counts: (1) conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance, which carries a statutory mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years and a maximum of 40 years; (2) conspiracy to launder monetary instruments, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years; and (3) dispensing a counterfeit drug, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.

 “Counterfeit pills pose a unique danger to this community, especially ones that have the appearance of a drug that is so regularly prescribed, stated U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison.  “We will continue to investigate and aggressively prosecute instances where those counterfeit pills are manufactured illegally and distributed in our district to keep our community safe.”

“Drug traffickers will go to any length to sell their poison,” said HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie M. Salazar. “As their efforts evolve so do ours. The best way that we as law enforcement professionals can continue to dismantle drug trafficking organizations is by working together at the federal, state and local level. I’m incredibly proud of the work of our HSI agents, partners and all the members of the Detroit Dark Web Task Force for their commitment to bring offenders to justice.”

“The DEA, in collaboration with HSI, continues our commitment to safeguard communities from individuals who sell fake pills and other illicit substances.  This case proves that there is no place to hide in the dark web when it comes to law enforcement’s efforts to protect the people we serve,” said Special Agent in Charge Greene.

The investigation was conducted by the Detroit Dark Web Task Force, which consists of HSI, Postal Inspection Service Office of the Inspector General (USPIS-OIG), Secret Service (USSS), Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation (IRS-CI), Michigan State Police (MSP), and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).  The task force investigates criminal organizations, including drug vendors, that operate within dark web marketplaces.  The task force has disrupted and dismantled numerous drug trafficking organizations through criminal arrests and the seizure of proceeds from criminal activity.  

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Jerome White and John N. O’Brien.