Glendale man sentenced to 5 years in prison for darknet drug trafficking ring

A federal judge sentenced a Glendale man to more than five years in prison for a darknet drug trafficking scheme. 

Davit Avalyan, 36, pleaded guilty in October 2025 for conspiring with three other men to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA and ketamine in exchange for cryptocurrency.

The Department of Justice said the drug trafficking ring operated several different vendor accounts between 2018 and 2025, including "one of the most prolific methamphetamine and cocaine distributors to ever operate on the darknet."

Federal prosecutors said Avalyan and his accomplices fulfilled small-scale drug orders by packaging narcotics into parcels and dropping them off at post offices and mailboxes in Los Angeles County and other areas. 

Avalyan is the last of the four men to be sentenced to federal prison. 

Last month, a federal judge sentenced Hayk Grigoryan, 36, to 10 years in prison and Gurgen Nersesyan, 44, to at least one year in prison. 

Earlier in February, Hrant Gevorgyan, 36, was sentenced to two years in prison.