INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis night club manager was sentenced Wednesday to 188 months in federal prison for conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine through the “dark web.”
Pierre Burnett Jr, 44, also known as “Doe,” was the manager of Epic Ultra Lounge, formerly Tantrum, in Indianapolis.
He was also, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the leader of a “major heroin and cocaine distribution ring” in the Indianapolis area.
The investigation began after U.S. law enforcement shut down the “Silk Road” dark web site commonly used by drug traffickers. As part of that effort, federal authorities identified Lee Gray, a Camby, Indiana, man as an alleged drug trafficker moving heroin and cocaine throughout the U.S.
According to federal authorities, Burnett was Gray’s supplier.
DARK WEB | 26-year-old from California charges in ‘Brian Kil’ school threats
Gray was indicted on July 7, 2015, and pleaded guilty in December of that year. He will be sentenced in October in federal court in Indianapolis.
Burnett reportedly obtained the heroin and cocaine directly from a Mexican source, and would pay the source by delivering large bags of money to Mexican couriers. Burnett reportedly then distributed those drugs to a number of sellers, including Gray and Alan Duncan, nicknamed “Al Gore,” who was convicted and sentenced of drug trafficking in Ohio.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Burnett is responsible for distributing at least 17 kilograms of heroin and 25 kilograms of cocaine during the course of the conspiracy.
DEA Assistant Special Agent in Charge Greg Westfall said the case is an example of the agency’s commitment to dismantle organizations who “poison our communities with heroin and fentanyl.”
MORE HEROIN COVERAGE: Franklin PD arrests 21 in heroin ring | Sheriff issues stern warning, plea for help after heroin death| Editorial: Heroin is a disease, not a choice | How to spot a heroin user| Mom turns heroin heartache into mission | City launches program to end heroin use, disease| 'Don't sugarcoat this,' mom says of heroin death| Hamilton Co.: Wealthy, educated, dying of heroin | Heroin overdoses skyrocket in Shelbyville | Howard County sees spike in heroin overdoses | Fishers police fighting growing heroin problem | Anderson PD targets 24 suspects in heroin bust | Heroin may be the most addictive drug | Heroin, designer drugs remain popular in school
