Operated on ‘darknet market’
A Lancaster man has pleaded guilty to a federal charge for his role in a drug ring that sold cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and crack cocaine hidden in stuffed animals on darknet marketplaces.
Adan Sepulveda, 30, has agreed to enter his plea in Los Angeles federal court to one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
He and four other Lancaster residents were charged in 2019 with membership in the “Drugpharmacist'' drug trafficking organization, named for the moniker it used on the darknet marketplaces Wall Street Market and Dream.
The defendants hid the drugs inside stuffed animals and mailed them at post offices throughout Los Angeles, according to Sepulveda's plea agreement.
One shipment of heroin on Aug. 7, 2018, resulted in the fatal overdose of a victim in Knoxville, Tenn.
An investigation into the organization confirmed that the ring was using stash houses in the San Fernando Valley to package drugs for delivery, prosecutors said.
Once he pleads guilty, Sepulveda would face between five and 40 years behind bars at sentencing, his plea agreement says.
