Laura Kimble, senior drug chemist and forensic scientist with the Hamilton County CoronerÕs Crime Laboratory located in Blue Ash, counts out fake oxycodone, Thursday, March 24, 2022. Legally prescribed, the drug is used to relieve severe pain. It is an opioid analgesic. The fake pills contain fentanyl and acetaminophen. But though the drugs were confiscated in the same drug bust, theyÕre not all the same. Kimble said one pill tested with no actual drugs in it. She noted the discoloration and smudging of the letters. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid and is 100 times more potent than morphine. Covid Death Hit One Million
Palm Desert, California – A 35-year-old Palm Desert woman was sentenced this week to 12 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges that she conspired to distribute fentanyl and launder the profits through digital currency networks. The sentence, handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez, closes a chapter in a case that federal authorities say exemplifies the shifting landscape of drug trafficking in the age of cryptocurrency and the dark web.
According to court documents, Holly Adams and her partner, Devlin Hosner, operated an online drug distribution business that sold counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with fentanyl to buyers across the United States. The pair made hundreds of thousands of dollars through anonymous sales, hiding their tracks with cryptocurrency mixers and encrypted digital wallets.
But even after a state-level bust in 2021, the duo’s operation continued. In September of that year, California law enforcement raided a home shared by Adams and Hosner. Officers said that Hosner tried to delay their entry while Adams attempted to destroy evidence by pouring pills into a chemical solution. Both were arrested and later released—but quickly returned to online dealing, unaware that federal investigators were already building a case.
The investigation culminated in March 2022, when federal agents raided a hotel room in Riverside County where Adams and Hosner were staying. Inside, agents seized nearly a kilogram of fentanyl-laced pills and 60 grams of methamphetamine. The bust underscored the scale of the operation and the growing concern among law enforcement about dark web drug markets, which allow sellers to operate outside traditional distribution channels.
The case was investigated by the Northern California Illicit Digital Economy (NCIDE) Task Force, a coalition of federal agencies focused on dark web crime and cryptocurrency laundering. It includes agents from IRS Criminal Investigation, Homeland Security Investigations, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sam Stefanki prosecuted the case. Meanwhile, Hosner—who faces similar charges—remains in custody awaiting trial. His next court appearance is scheduled for August 19, 2025.
In a region and a country still grappling with a deadly fentanyl crisis, the Adams case serves as a sobering example of how technology has reshaped the mechanics of drug trafficking—and how law enforcement is evolving to meet it.
