Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney, Sheriff Errol D. Toulon, Jr., and Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina met in Brentwood on Friday, April 11th to announce a big-time drug trafficking bust. 21 were charged in a 109-count indictment.
Carolyn Tolin, 46, of Centereach, allegedly (1) operated a large-scale narcotics operation from her Centereach residence; (2) received $93,000 in (previously) untraceable cryptocurrency via the rideshare app Uber, which she accessed to deliver her product locally; and (3) amassed even more of a short-term fortune through misuse of the USPS system for the out-of-town orders that funded the nationwide scope of her dark web vendor, entitled "MamaKnowsBrown."
“This case is notable because of the online dark web sale of deadly drugs all over the United States. We are asking for the public’s help. We believe that these deadly drugs were sent all over the country," said District Attorney Tierney.
"If you have seen this warning flyer that was shipped out with these drugs, please contact the District Attorney’s Office via our webpage," he added.
The flyer mentioned—which Tolin reportedly included with each purchase—provides a “High Risk of Overdose” cautionary reminder and further instructions on how to best consume certain illicit drugs.
The investigation was led by the Fentanyl Task Force; five kilograms of narcotics, including over 2.5 kilograms of heroin and fentanyl, were recovered. Bloods street gang involvement was detected as well.
“The success of the SCDA Fentanyl Task Force is evident with the takedown of this major narcotics operation that was spreading poison across the country and undoubtedly these arrests are saving lives,” said Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina.
“We remain committed and will continue to allot the necessary resources to target dangerous traffickers like Larell Cambell and Carolyn Tolin who peddle dangerous narcotics for their own financial gain.”
Larell Campbell, 32, of Copiague, and Carlos Torres, 42, of Bay Shore, are two of the other major defendants in this case. Various members of Campbell’s immediate and extended family are among those arrested.
Like Tolin, Campbell and Torres allegedly trafficked large-scale narcotics—fentanyl and cocaine—across Suffolk County.
Charged with “Operating as a Major Trafficker” for possessing "over $75,000 worth" of cocaine, Campbell faces 25 to life in prison. Tolin faces the same sentence.
Both their charges are bail-eligible.
Tierney noted his preference not to “sound like a broken record" before acknowledging his consistent contempt for Albany’s lax attitude toward bail reform. A broken system, Tierney believes, allows criminals to casually carry on with their not-so-casual, and actually quite lethal business practices.
He said Tolin was essentially running a dark web empire "as if it were an UberEats." Tierney and his fellow leaders in local law enforcement indicate the volume of these indictments may be just what drug distributors on the come-up need to see to subsequently cease action entirely.
“Today’s indictments are a testament to the collaboration of our law enforcement partners,” said Sheriff Toulon. “Fentanyl has taken a devastating toll on residents of our county, and we will continue to do everything we can to get this deadly weapon off our streets and these bad actors behind bars where they belong.”