In a troubling development that underscores the darker capabilities of modern communication tools, Telegram Messenger has found itself at the center of a criminal investigation in Eagle County. The platform, often referred to as “The dark web in your pocket” by the BBC, has been implicated in a case involving the distribution of drugs to minors.
Legal Troubles for Telegram's CEO
Recently, Telegram's CEO, Pavel Durov, was apprehended in France, facing serious allegations that include facilitating drug trafficking, fraud, and the dissemination of child sex abuse images through his application. Durov's legal counsel has vehemently dismissed the notion that he should bear responsibility for the illicit activities occurring on the platform, highlighting the app's vast user base of nearly 1 billion individuals.
Telegram positions itself as a secure messaging service, boasting advanced encryption technologies designed to protect user privacy. The company claims its mission is to provide the best security, utilizing a combination of 256-bit symmetric AES encryption, 2048-bit RSA encryption, and Diffie–Hellman secure key exchange.
A Case of Drug Distribution
The case in Eagle County gained traction when local resident Kathya Saenz-Hernandez, aged 22, received a 16-year suspended imposition sentence for selling drugs to minors via her Telegram account. The Gore Range Narcotics Interdiction Team (G.R.A.N.I.T.E.) dedicated significant resources—months of investigation and over a hundred hours of work—to uncover the details surrounding her activities.
The investigation was initiated in March 2022, following a report from a concerned mother who approached a school resource officer. The mother expressed her alarm over her child's erratic behavior and the discovery of substances such as mushrooms and LSD in their possession. She revealed that her child had utilized a Telegram account to procure these drugs, even providing the Eagle County Sheriff's Office with a video of a Telegram channel where drugs were being sold.
Evidence of Drug Sales
According to the arrest affidavit, the Telegram channel in question featured an array of products for sale, including marijuana, THC products, vapes, and cocaine. Subsequent inquiries revealed that other local students had also purchased drugs from the same account holder, known as Katy or Kathy. This led G.R.A.N.I.T.E. officers to a source who granted them access to the Telegram account, which belonged to one of Saenz-Hernandez’s 67 subscribers.
On September 19, 2023, officers accessed the account, discovering active listings for marijuana, THC products, DMT, acid, and purple molly. The channel appeared to be fully operational, with ongoing posts advertising drug sales.
Saenz-Hernandez was arrested on September 26 and subsequently pled guilty to distributing a controlled substance to a minor. Her sentence, a suspended imposition, allows for probation instead of immediate incarceration, with the stipulation that any violation could lead to the enforcement of the full sentence.