Partners in life and partners in cybercrime: women arrested for crypto-drug market operation
A trio of women, two of whom were school psychologists, allegedly ran a massive crypto-drug operation that shipped illegal drugs across the United States.
Authorities in Colorado and Oregon have arrested three seemingly unsuspecting women after allegedly running an illegal drug ring that sold a wide range of narcotics to people all over the United States.
Jesse Wasson, Amanada Heffelfinger, and Jennifer Blake are said to be behind the dark website “Rocky Mountain Connections.”
This site advertised a range of illegal drugs, including MDMA, cocaine, Xanax, ketamine, methamphetamine, and LSD. Customers could purchase these drugs in exchange for cryptocurrency.
A cyber-narcotics task force based in Columbus, Ohio, first discovered the website after finding it connected to a known trafficker’s encrypted messaging account, ABC 6 reports.
Platforms like Signal or Telegram were likely used to communicate with other criminals and buyers on the trafficking account found by authorities.
Following the discovery, authorities conducted a months-long investigation. The task force made multiple purchases from Rocky Mountain Connections, including fake methamphetamine pills, LSD, cocaine, and Xanax.
These packages were then tracked using data from the US Postal Service, and agents connected their movement to the addresses associated with Heffelfinger and Blake, ABC 6 reports.
Surveillance data also placed Heffelfinger and Blake at dispensaries and post offices where they supposedly deposited potential drug packages.
Authorities ordered search warrants on the pair's email addresses, which allegedly revealed purchases of vacuum-sealed bags bought in bulk and third-party postage paid for in cryptocurrency.
The women even purchased their own branding for Rocky Mountain Connections and “seed phrases” or master keys for their crypto wallets.
Prosecutors allege that all of the women played a vital role in the drug trafficking business, with Wasson responsible for customer service, money laundering, and general operations, while Heffelfinger and Blake ordered the drugs.
Authorities uncovered that the trio were actually very good friends, with phone and email records showing they had contacted each other hundreds of times over a few months.
Photos were uncovered that even showed Wasson at Heffelfinger and Blake’s wedding.
Bitcoin obtained in the illegal operation was traced to a swapping service called ChangeNow, which converted the money into Monero, a privacy-focused coin that is harder to trace, making it perfect for money laundering.
While it’s unclear how much money the women made through drug trafficking, prosecutors allege that two women had access to “hundreds of thousands of dollars in cryptocurrency.”
It’s alleged that Blake converted over $45,000 in crypto to cash, while her partner deposited over $65,000.
When Blake’s phone was seized, authorities found she had access to roughly $300,000 in crypto.
Heffelfinger and Blake worked closely with children as school psychologists, while they kept roughly 20 pounds of suspected meth in their apartment, along with Xanax bars, and a kilogram of cocaine.
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