CENTEREACH, N.Y. — A Centereach woman has pleaded guilty to running a large-scale narcotics operation on the dark web, distributing fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine to customers across the country from inside her home, Suffolk County District Attorney Raymond A. Tierney announced Thursday.
Carolyn Tolin, 46, admitted in court to overseeing a drug trafficking business under the vendor name “MamaKnowsBrown,” sending packages of narcotics through the U.S. Postal Service and UPS, and using Uber for local deliveries. Prosecutors said she accepted cryptocurrency payments, later converting the funds to cash. Tolin now faces up to 15 years in prison on felony narcotics charges.
“The scale of the operation that this defendant ran out of her Centereach garage is astounding,” Tierney said. “Anyone distributing or possessing these dangerous poisons will be fully investigated and prosecuted.”
According to court documents, Tolin ran the operation between September 2024 and March 2025, selling more than $75,000 worth of fentanyl, heroin, crack cocaine and powder cocaine. Her dark web storefront offered multiple shipping options and even allowed customers to leave product reviews.
Investigators said Tolin packaged each shipment with a printed overdose warning card, cautioning buyers about the potency of her drugs and advising them to keep Narcan nearby and avoid using alone.
A search warrant executed on March 14 uncovered large quantities of narcotics in her garage, along with computer equipment used to manage the online marketplace, packaging materials, digital scales, heat sealers and envelopes prepared for shipment.
Tolin pleaded guilty to Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the First Degree and Attempted Operating as a Major Trafficker, both felony charges. She has been held in custody since her arrest and was remanded without bail following her plea.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorneys Kristin Barnes and Matthew Laube of the Violent Criminal Enterprises Bureau. Investigators included members of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Fentanyl Task Force and the Suffolk County Sheriff’s Office.
Photo: Suffolk County DA.
