A Tucson man and three others were sentenced to prison for using the “dark web” to sell heroin, meth and cocaine throughout the United States, officials said.
Kevin Dean McCoy, 28, of Tucson was sentenced to 15 years in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and laundering proceeds from drug distributions, according to a U.S. District Attorney’s Office in Arizona news release.
Silvester Ruelas, 50, of Peoria, was given a 20-year prison sentence. Amber Worrell, described in court documents as McCoy’s girlfriend, received 10 years and Peggy Gomez received a five-year sentence after pleading guilty to identical charges.
Between 2015 and 2017, the group used the dark web — secret internet networks that require special software to access — to sell drugs. The drugs were shipped to customers from a vehicle-buying business in Mesa.
They shipped the drugs from Phoenix using the Postal Service. Postal Service agents later seized the drug parcels headed to at least 14 states, including Arkansas, Florida, Montana and Pennsylvania.
During the investigation, authorities seized a Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl XL ring, gold, silver and platinum bars, and a collection of firearms, including an AK-47 rifle and a .50-caliber sniper rifle.
Investigators found the group used encrypted technology to launder their proceeds with bitcoin cryptocurrency. They would then sell the bitcoin for cash.
A sentencing memorandum filed by prosecutors, in which they recommended McCoy receive a life sentence, said the ring wanted to become “the ‘Amazon Marketplace’ for thousands of drug addicts and drug dealers across the country.”
