Four men were arrested in Glendale and Sherman Oaks on federal charges alleging they worked to distribute various drugs, including cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and ketamine, on hidden online marketplaces, officials announced Thursday.
Davit Avalyan, Hrant Gevorgyan, Hayk Grigoryan and Gurgen Nersesyan were arrested Wednesday and later appeared in Los Angeles federal court on charges alleging their roles in running a drug ring that operated on various darknet marketplaces, according to the FBI.
The arrests were part of the federal Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement initiative to address illicit vendors operating on the darknet to provide narcotics to buyers across the United States, according to the FBI.
The indictment alleges that various vendors using such names as JoyInc, LaFarmacia, WhiteDoc and JanesAddiction, among others, sold cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA — commonly known as ecstasy and molly — and ketamine to customers in exchange for cryptocurrency.
The defendants then allegedly shipped the drugs throughout the country via the U.S. Postal Service. According to the indictment, the defendants filled orders through various vendor accounts by packaging the drugs into parcels and delivering the packages to post offices and mailboxes in Los Angeles County and elsewhere.
JoyInc is believed to have operated for at least seven years and is one of the most prolific methamphetamine and cocaine distributors to operate on the darknet, authorities said.
During the arrests, agents served multiple federal search warrants and allegedly seized “large amounts” of cash and suspected drugs, according to the FBI.
If convicted as charged, Avalyan, Gevorgyan, Grigoryan and Nersesyan would face sentences of up to life in federal prison, prosecutors noted.