LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A Las Vegas couple was sentenced to over 4 years in prison for trafficking drugs and distributing them nationwide across seven online darknet markets.
47-year-old Rushan Lavar Reed and 28-year-old Celeste Nicole Reed were participating in a long-term trafficking conspiracy that illegally distributed 'pharmacy grade, not homemade pressed pills,' according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Rushan and Celeste each pleaded guilty on Oct. 22, 2024, to conspiracy to distribute oxycodone, hydrocodone and amphetamine. In addition to the prison, the judge ordered the couple to serve three years of supervised release.
According to court documents, for six years, the married couple operated an online storefront called “MrsFeelGood” to illegally distribute a variety of narcotics across the United States.
They used darknet markets, including Monopoly, Versus, ASAP, AlphaBay, Wall Street, Archetyp, Bohemia, Empire, Dream and White House.
They also sold and distributed MDMA, codeine, Vyvanse, Dilaudid and marijuana. Operating on the dark web made it possible for the Reeds to hide their identities, hide the location of their computers and hide their illegal sales. They used cryptocurrency to launder their money so that the illegal proceeds of their drug trafficking would be difficult to trace.
On Oct. 11, 2023, law enforcement executed arrest warrants at the couple’s Las Vegas home and arrested them both. Officers recovered multiple pills in prescription bottles, packaging materials, gloves, black Ziploc bags and empty prescription pill bottles with the names of the defendants and other uncharged coconspirators.
Officers also recovered an assortment of electronic devices and an AR-15 firearm. The laptop was set up to use an operating system designed to access the darknet and protect against surveillance.
