U.S. Attorney E. Martin Estrada | U.S. Department of Justice
Two men from Southern California have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in supplying fentanyl-laced pills to a drug trafficking operation that distributed these substances to over 1,000 customers nationwide via the dark web.
Adan Ruiz, aged 27 from Garden Grove, received a sentence of 215 months (17 years and 11 months) in federal prison. Omar Navia, aged 39 from South Los Angeles, was sentenced to 180 months (15 years) by United States District Judge David O. Carter. Judge Carter remarked on the case as “the most sophisticated fentanyl distribution ring that this court has seen.”
Navia admitted guilt on April 29 for one count of conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Ruiz pleaded guilty on June 3 to similar charges and an additional count of distribution of fentanyl. Both individuals have been in custody since November 2023.
According to plea agreements, between August 2021 and December 2022, Navia and Ruiz provided fentanyl-laced pills to Michael Ta from Westminster and Rajiv Srinivasan from Houston. The pair used the darknet and encrypted messaging applications to sell over 120,000 fentanyl-laced pills across the country. This activity resulted in several fatal overdoses. Navia also admitted supplying methamphetamine.
Srinivasan managed the "redlightlabs" account on multiple darknet platforms like "Dark0de," advertising counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl among other drugs. He used Wickr for communication with buyers and accepted virtual currency payments routed through cryptocurrency exchanges.
Ta coordinated drug orders with Srinivasan, stored drugs at his residence, and dispatched packages ordered via the redlightlabs account.
Between February and November 2022, Srinivasan and Ta conducted around 3,800 transactions with approximately 1,400 customers across all U.S. states. They distributed more than 123,000 M30 pills laced with fentanyl along with methamphetamine, "China white" fentanyl powder, black tar heroin, and cocaine.
Both Ta and Srinivasan acknowledged causing three overdose deaths due to their distribution activities. They also admitted providing lethal doses of fentanyl-laced pills leading to two additional fatalities.
Ta is serving a sentence of 260 months (21 years and eight months) after pleading guilty in August 2023. Srinivasan received a sentence of 235 months (19 years and seven months) after his June guilty plea for distributing fentanyl resulting in death.
The investigation was led by the FBI with significant support from the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas under JCODE's initiative targeting darknet vendors involved in illegal drug trafficking.
Assistance also came from the Northern Colorado Drug Task Force (NCDTF), which includes agencies like Fort Collins Police Services among others working against drug-related crimes in Larimer County.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregg E. Marmaro prosecuted this case as part of efforts by JCODE since its inception in 2018 aimed at arresting darknet traffickers resulting in substantial seizures including $42 million worth of proceeds tied to drugs.
