SANTA CRUZ — Federal and local investigators say they thwarted a plan by a UC Santa Cruz student to sell illegal drugs with a smartphone app after he reportedly advertised the services on posters around campus.
Collin Riley Howard, 18, is facing decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines.
A federal grand jury indicted Howard on Feb. 14. He made his initial appearance Wednesday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Nathanael Cousins.
According to an indictment filed Thursday, Howard possessed and distributed cocaine and methamphetamine during three meetings with an undercover officer on Nov. 7, 13 and 20. He was arrested on Nov. 28 during the fourth meeting.
Investigators from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) say that Howard developed the “Banana Plug” application, which was available on the Apple App Store.
According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Abraham Simmons, the app offered for sale marijuana, meth, cocaine, “shrooms” and “Molly,” a slang term for ecstasy. The app also invited customers to make special requests, Simmons said.
Howard advertised the app and its services on posters hung around campus, the indictment said.
A UC Santa Cruz police officer discovered the posters and, in coordination with DHS, used the application to request a purchase of marijuana and cocaine. The officer then communicated with Howard via Snapchat to set up the purchase.
An undercover DHS agent made the purchase and continued to communicate with Howard to set up three additional purchases of illegal drugs. The third and fourth purchases were for more than 5 grams of methamphetamine, Simmons said.
Howard faces four felony charges of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and methamphetamine. He was released from custody after the Wednesday hearing.
He faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and a $1 million fine each for two of his charges, and a minimum sentence of 5 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison for the other two charges.
Howard returns to court on Feb. 22 for a bail review hearing.
