He made homemade Xanax, then sold it on the ‘Dark Net,’ federal authorities allege

A 25-year-old man will make his first court appearance next month after federal investigators seized nearly a million dollars in cash and bitcoin, a cache of firearms and other evidence that showed he may have been making large batches of Xanax and selling the drugs to customers on the “Dark Net.”

Federal investigators describe the Dark Net as “a haven for drug traffickers that want to sell their product and never have to meet any of their customers face to face,” according to a criminal complaint filed in Raleigh’s U.S. District Court.

Matthew Lee Yensan of 8709 Hidden View Court has been charged with one count each of possession with intent to distribute marijuana and possession with intent to distribute Xanax. Xanax is a mild tranquilizer used to treat anxiety, panic disorders and depression.

Authorities also charged Yensan with one count each of distributing a controlled substance by means of the internet and possessing firearms in furtherance of drug trafficking.

Yensan became the target of a federal investigation in July, when someone contacted agents with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Charlotte. The tipster said Yensan was using several pill presses to mass produce Xanax, then selling it. The tipster told the federal agents that he/she had helped Yensan move multiple pill presses to a unit at Ample Storage on Gorman Street in West Raleigh, according to the criminal complaint.

On Sept. 9, an agent with the federal postal inspectors service seized a package addressed to Yensan’s home. It contained three pounds of high-grade marijuana, according to the criminal complaint.

Three days later, federal agents obtained a search warrant for Yensan’s home, where they seized about 12 more pounds of high-grade marijuana; about two pounds of shatter, a THC-based wax used for smoking, and several bottles of prescription medication not prescribed to Yensan, according to the criminal complaint. The agents also recovered two Glock .40 caliber pistols, a Smith and Wesson revolver, a Colt revolver and an MPS .22 caliber rifle. All of the firearms were loaded, according to the criminal complaint.

After continuing to search, the agents discovered a large amount of cash in a locked safe, another $300,000 in a second safe and digital evidence including crypto-currency cold storage cards, internet activity and bulk postage, according to the complaint.

The agents obtained a second warrant to search a unit at Ample Storage. There, they found about 400 pounds of Xanax precursors used to manufacture the drug. They also seized about 5,000 pills of pressed Xanax, according to the complaint.

The agents also seized about 100 boxes already packaged with various amounts of Xanax pills; three electronic, industrial-sized pill presses and two electronic drug mixers.

Federal authorities served Yensan with a notice that ordered him to forfeit all properties and proceeds that he may have gained as a result of the crimes he has been charged with. Along with all of the firearms seized during the search, Yensan had to relinquish two bitcoin storage cards, a 2014 Chevrolet Colorado, a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, two personal watercraft and a personal watercraft trailer, three pill presses, $269,068 in cash and bitcoin valued at $715,151.97, according to the complaint.

The Dark Net is a special browser needed to locate hidden websites. It shrouds the user’s identity to near anonymity.

Yensan is a native of Columbia, S.C., and is the owner of Y Vending.

He was arrested Sept. 13. He will make his first court appearance on Dec. 12, said Don Connelly, a spokesman with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Raleigh.

This story was originally published November 21, 2017 at 3:16 PM with the headline "He made homemade Xanax, then sold it on the ‘Dark Net,’ federal authorities allege."