Charged with Running a Door-to-Door Drug Delivery Service Are 3 Additional Defendants
Today, a three-count indictment against Edison Hernandez, also known as “dragoncove,” “originaldragoncove,” “the theoriginaldragoncove,” and “Nino,” was made public in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York. The charge against Hernandez includes distribution and possession with the intent to distribute heroin and cocaine, as well as the delivery and distribution of those drugs over the internet. The first two charges include Hernandez’s alleged dark web actions that allegedly began in January 2013. Separate charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, ketamine, and 3,4-methylenedioxy-methamphetamine (MDMA) through a door-to-door drug delivery service are brought against Hernandez,
Michael Caruso, and Raymer Ynoa in the third count of the indictment. Today, a different criminal complaint that accused Irvin Hernandez of participating in the same door-to-door drug delivery operation was unsealed. The accusations were made public by Breon Peace, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ricky J. Patel, the
Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New York (HSI), Daniel B. Brubaker, the Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Division of the US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and Breon Peace.
According to the allegations, Edison Hernandez went to considerable measures to hide his identity to mail tens of thousands of packages containing harmful medicines throughout the nation and work with his accomplices to deliver them door-to-door in New York City. “This Office will not be prevented from rooting out those who flood our neighbourhoods with illicit and dangerous substances by hiding behind the dark web, encryption tools, or Bitcoin.” Mr Peace expressed his gratitude for the significant contributions made by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Police Department, Nassau County Sheriff’s Department, Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations Division, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection, and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations. “Hernandez is accused of using sophisticated technologies, including the dark web, cryptocurrencies, and encrypted messaging programmes, to hide his activities. The enforcement actions of today serve as reminders to high-tech criminals that, whatever how well-hidden they may think they are, they are nonetheless subject to the law, according to Patel, the acting special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New York. No matter where they are sold — on the street corner or from the virtual crevices of the dark web — “HSI and our allies will continue to work hard to keep lethal narcotics out of our communities.”
“The defendants believed the dark web marketplace would hide their illegal operations, but Postal Inspectors and our law enforcement partners brought their criminal enterprise to light,” said USPIS Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Division Brubaker. We are dedicated to the fight against the unlawful selling of harmful drugs, and we will cooperate with our partner organisations to expose anyone attempting to remain anonymous on the dark web. We will look into and prosecute anyone who utilises the mail for illicit purposes using every tool at our disposal. The defendants today discovered the hard way that Postal Inspectors and our law enforcement partners were waiting to catch them once their crimes departed the dark web and entered the real world.
The Dark Web Vendor Operation of Edison Hernandez
According to the allegations, defendant Edison Hernandez had a solid reputation as a drug dealer on Silk Road, AlphaBay, Dream Market, and Wall Street Market. Through these dark web markets, Hernandez marketed and sold heroin and cocaine to consumers in the United States from January 2013 through April 2019.
Hernandez used the online aliases “dragoncove,” “originaldragoncove,” and “theoriginaldragoncove” to hide his illicit behaviour and only accepted payment in the form of Bitcoin. Hernandez instructed clients to get in touch with him using encrypted messaging systems while sending packages under false names. On SilkRoad, AlphaBay, Dream Market, and Wall Street Market, the defendant executed thousands of transactions and routinely obtained excellent ratings and favourable feedback from customers.
Operation of a Door-to-Door Drug Delivery Service by the Defendants
As alleged in the indictment and the complaint, defendants Edison Hernandez, Michael Caruso, Raymer Ynoa, and Irvin Hernandez each independently ran a door-to-door drug delivery service in the New York City region between February 2019 and January 2022. The defendants used the moniker “Nino & Viktor’s Pastry Shoppe” to market their service. Customers could purchase a wide variety of narcotics from the site, including cocaine, methamphetamine, ketamine, and MDMA. Customers would place drug orders via an encrypted messaging app, and a deliveryman would show up later that day to deliver the narcotics.
The accusations made against the defendants in the indictment and complaint are only allegations, and they are assumed innocent until and unless proven guilty. The International Narcotics and Money Laundering Section of the Office is in charge of the case for the government. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew D. Wang, while forfeiture cases are being handled by Assistant United States Attorney Madeline O’Connor and Brendan King of the Asset Recovery Section of the Office.
