'Scale Of Operation' At Home Of Centereach Woman, Who Pled Guilty To Drug Trafficking, Was 'Astounding': DA

CENTEREACH, NY — "Mama" did not know best in this case.

A Centereach woman pleaded guilty in connection with dealing drugs over the dark web from her home, Suffolk District Attorney Ray Tierney said Thursday.

Carolyn Tolin, 46, of Centereach, pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and attempted operating as a major trafficker, according to his office.

Tolin used the United States Postal Service, UPS, and Uber to send drugs, including fentanyl, to customers in the county and throughout the country in exchange for payment in the form of cryptocurrency, prosecutors said.

She has been in custody since her arrest in March and, following the plea, was remanded without bail pending her next court date on Jan. 8.

Patch has reached out to her defense attorney, Ian Fitzgerald of Central Islip, for comment.

Tierney described the scale of the operation she ran out of her home's garage as "astounding" and thanked the investigators and prosecutors on the case for uncovering the "sophisticated operation" and bringing her defendant "to justice. Let it be known, anyone distributing or possessing these dangerous poisons will be fully investigated and prosecuted," he added.

From September 2024 to March 2025, Tolin sold over $75,000 worth of cocaine, fentanyl, and heroin, leading her operation through her dark web vendor site "MamaKnowsBrown," where she offered heroin, fentanyl, crack cocaine, and powder cocaine to customers both locally and nationwide, prosecutors said.

Tolin would also allow customers multiple shipping options and the opportunity to give feedback and reviews of each product, prosecutors said, adding that after receiving an order, she arranged for the narcotics to be shipped through the U.S. Postal Service or UPS to customers across the country, according to prosecutors.

Tolin used Uber to deliver products locally within Suffolk County and received payment for these sales in the form of cryptocurrency, which she would convert to cash, prosecutors said.

Within each package she mailed or delivered, Tolin included an overdose warning card to the customer, detailing the potency and danger of the narcotics she sold, according to prosecutors.

In the overdose card, Tolin warned her customers that her product could be deadly and cautioned to have Narcan, a drug used to reverse overdose, on hand when using, prosecutors said.

Tolin also warned users not to use the products alone and cautioned that, because of the potency, the narcotics were meant for "experienced, long-term users only," according to prosecutors.

On March 14, members of law enforcement executed a search warrant at Tolin’s Centereach home and within the garage, found large amounts of fentanyl, heroin, and cocaine, as well as computer equipment, cell phones, packages in the process of being prepared for shipment, and additional envelopes, packaging materials, a heat sealer, a digital scale, and Tolin’s signature overdose warning cards, prosecutors said.