A Centereach woman who operated a large-scale narcotics business on the dark web under the name “MamaKnowsBrown” has been sentenced to 15 years in prison, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced.
Carolyn Tolin, 46, pleaded guilty in November to criminal possession of a controlled substance in the first degree and attempted operating as a major trafficker for running a nationwide drug operation from her home.
“This defendant exploited technology to run a deadly narcotics enterprise,” Tierney said. “Her resourcefulness and business acumen could have led to legitimate success, but instead she chose to poison our community and believed she could outsmart the law.”
According to court records and Tolin’s admissions, from September 2024 through March 2025 she possessed and sold more than $75,000 worth of cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin. Prosecutors said she ran the operation through a dark web vendor site called MamaKnowsBrown, offering heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, and powder cocaine to customers locally and nationwide.
The dark web is a hidden portion of the internet that cannot be accessed through standard search engines. It requires specialized software that masks users’ identities and locations, allowing transactions to occur anonymously. Because of this secrecy, it is frequently used for illegal activity, including narcotics trafficking.
Authorities said Tolin allowed customers to select shipping options and post feedback and reviews. Orders were shipped through the U.S. Postal Service or UPS, while local deliveries within Suffolk County were made using Uber. Payments were made using cryptocurrency and later converted to cash.
On March 14, 2025, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Tolin’s residence, recovering large quantities of narcotics, packaging materials, digital scales, computer equipment, and packages prepared for shipment.
Tolin was sentenced on Jan. 22 to 15 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision.