Darknet Drug Lords: How a Glendale Crew Flooded America with Narcotics - and Got Caught

On a quiet street in Glendale, California, a man packaged parcels under the dim light of his kitchen. But inside those boxes wasn’t holiday cheer - it was a cocktail of illegal drugs, destined for customers as far as Maine and Florida. This week, Davit Avalyan, 36, learned his fate: 57 months in federal prison, the final chapter in a sprawling investigation that peeled back the layers of one of America’s most relentless darknet drug rings.

Fast Facts

• Davit Avalyan sentenced to nearly five years for darknet drug trafficking conspiracy.
• Ring operated from 2018 to 2025, using at least 10 online vendor accounts across major darknet markets.
• Drugs shipped nationwide via USPS, with payments in Bitcoin and Monero.
• FBI’s JCODE task force led the investigation, with support from DEA, IRS, USPS, and LAPD.
• Case highlights a global crackdown on darknet narcotics marketplaces.

The saga began in 2018, when a group of Los Angeles men - Davit Avalyan, Hayk Grigoryan, Gurgen Nersesyan, and Hrant Gevorgyan - launched a sophisticated online operation. Using aliases and a constellation of vendor accounts like JoyInc, PlanetHollywood, and LaFarmacia, they built a narcotics empire on the digital underbelly of the internet: the darknet.

These weren’t small-time peddlers. According to investigators, JoyInc alone became one of the most prolific distributors of methamphetamine and cocaine in darknet history, with a reach spanning dozens of online marketplaces. Their storefronts operated on infamous platforms such as Dream Market, Wallstreet, Empire, and even Silk Road 3.1 - names synonymous with the digital drug trade.

The operation was as audacious as it was methodical. Orders paid in cryptocurrency - Bitcoin and Monero - were processed online, the drugs discreetly packaged, and parcels dropped off at post offices across Los Angeles County. The United States Postal Service became an unwitting courier for thousands of shipments, blending illicit goods among everyday mail.

Law enforcement, however, was watching. The FBI’s Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) team coordinated a multi-agency effort, tracing transactions, tracking packages, and eventually unmasking the real-world identities behind the online aliases. Over seven years, the net closed in: three of Avalyan’s co-conspirators were sentenced to terms ranging from two to ten years, with Avalyan himself the last to face judgment.

This case is part of a broader crackdown against darknet narcotics markets. Just this month, a Taiwanese operator behind the Incognito Market received 30 years for facilitating over $105 million in drug sales. Globally, authorities are dismantling the infrastructure of these digital bazaars, targeting not only drug dealers but also those trafficking in stolen data, forged identities, and cybercrime services.

For years, the Glendale crew proved that the internet’s shadows could be exploited for profit, anonymity, and reach. Their downfall, however, is a warning: the same digital traces that fuel their business can - and will - lead to the knock at the door.

WIKICROOK

• Darknet: The darknet is a concealed part of the internet accessed with special tools, often used for anonymous communication and trading illegal goods and services.
• Vendor Account: A vendor account is an online profile used to sell goods or services, often under an alias on darknet or illicit marketplaces.
• Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency is a digital currency secured by cryptography, enabling secure, decentralized transactions and often used for both legal and illicit activities.
• JCODE: The Joint Criminal Opioid Darknet Enforcement team, a U.S. law enforcement task force targeting darknet drug crimes.
• Marketplace: A marketplace is an in-game shop where players securely buy, sell, or trade virtual items and cosmetics using real or virtual currency.