An Orange County man and a South Los Angeles man have been sentenced to federal prison for their roles in supplying fentanyl-laced pills to a drug trafficking ring that operated through the dark web, reaching over 1,000 customers across all 50 states.
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. During the sentencing hearings, Judge Carter remarked on the sophistication of the operation: “the most sophisticated fentanyl distribution ring that this court has seen.”
Navia pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute controlled substances on April 29. Ruiz entered guilty pleas on June 3 for conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of fentanyl. Both men have been detained since November 2023.
In their plea agreements, Navia and Ruiz admitted supplying fentanyl-laced pills between August 2021 and December 2022 to Michael Ta of Westminster and Rajiv Srinivasan of Houston. These individuals used the darknet and encrypted messaging apps to sell more than 120,000 such pills nationwide. The transactions led to several fatal overdoses. Navia also acknowledged providing methamphetamine for the operation.
Srinivasan managed an account named "redlightlabs" on various darknet platforms including "Dark0de," selling counterfeit M30 oxycodone pills containing fentanyl along with other drugs. He utilized Wickr for communications with customers and accepted virtual currency as payment.
Ta coordinated with Srinivasan regarding orders, procured drugs from suppliers, stored them at his residence, and dispatched packages ordered via "redlightlabs." From February to November 2022 alone, they completed about 3,800 transactions involving over 123,000 fentanyl-laced pills among other narcotics.
Both Ta and Srinivasan admitted responsibility for three overdose deaths linked directly to their operations in their plea agreements. Ta is serving a sentence of 260 months (21 years and eight months), while Srinivasan received a sentence of 235 months (19 years and seven months).
The FBI led this investigation 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 auspices—targeting darknet vendors since its establishment in 2018.
The Northern Colorado Drug Task Force contributed significantly as well alongside agencies like Fort Collins Police Services among others in Larimer County efforts against drug-related crimes.
Assistant United States Attorney Gregg E. Marmaro prosecuted this case within the International Narcotics division focusing on money laundering & racketeering activities related thereto.