Pittsburgh Resident and Darknet Drug Trafficker Sentenced to Nearly Six Years in Prison on Federal Drug Trafficking and Firearms Convictions

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court to 70 months in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, on his convictions of distribution of LSD, MDMA, cocaine, and ketamine and two federal firearms violations, Acting United States Attorney Troy Rivetti announced today.

United States District Judge Cathy Bissoon imposed the sentence on George Sotiris Vlastos, 38, on May 8, 2025.

According to information presented to the Court, in and around May 2020, Vlastos acquired controlled substances—including LSD, MDMA, ketamine, and cocaine—from an international MDMA/Ecstasy vendor via the Darknet and distributed those substances to members of the Western Pennsylvania public. Vlastos, who himself was an unlawful user of controlled substances, was also found to be in possession of a firearm in violation of federal law. In November 2023, while on bond for these offenses, Vlastos made several false statements on an application to acquire a firearm, in further violation of federal firearms law.

Assistant United States Attorney Kelly M. Locher prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Acting United States Attorney Rivetti commended Homeland Security Investigations, the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Pennsylvania State Police, and the Crafton Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Vlastos.