Collin Riley Howard, an 18-year-old student at the University of California Santa Cruz, has been arrested and charged for allegedly building an app to sell highly illegal drugs on.
According to the United States Department of Justice, Howard — from Sunnyvale, California — developed a mobile device application called “Banana Plug” to sell a range of illegal narcotics such as methamphetamine, cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms, marijuana, and other drugs through the application.
“Banana Plug”, which was available for download on the App Store, was advertised throughout UC Santa Cruz through the use of posters, which Howard hung all throughout the campus. At the time of this writing, “Banana Plug” was no longer available on Apple’s App Store.
Following his arrest, Howard was charged with one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of distribution and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
If convicted, Howard could spend anywhere from five to 40 years in prison. The minimum prison sentence that Howard reportedly faces is five years.
You can read the full press release from the Northern District of California District Attorney’s Office at the United States Department of Justice website.
The UC Santa Cruz is recognizable due to their extremely unique mascot, the Banana Slugs. The mascot was made famous by Jon Travolta’s character in the 1994 classic film Pulp Fiction.
Miramax Films
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