Burning Man Drug Runner Sentenced After Being Nabbed In Colorado

KANSAS – A New York man who was caught en route to the Burning Man festival with a "smorgasbord of illegal drugs," was sentenced in Kansas federal court, the U.S. Department of Justice said Monday.

Alexander Zelyakovsky, age 46, was sentenced Monday to 34 months in federal prison followed by three year on supervised release by Senior U.S. District Court Judge J. Thomas Marten of the District of Kansas.

Zelyakovsky was stopped on Aug. 25, 2018 for a traffic infraction by a Colorado State Patrol officer while traveling through Colorado on his way to the Nevada festival.

After Zelyakovsky agreed for his truck to be searched, the trooper noticed that the tailgate of the truck was unusually heavy and looked behind a factory panel, the U.S. Attorney's office said in a press release. "Zelyakovsky was transporting 1125 grams of Ecstasy, 376 grams of Psilocyn mushrooms, .0173 grams of LSD, 229 grams of cocaine and 331 grams of Ketamine," as well as $26,745 in cash, the U.S. A.O. said.

Zelyakovsky was indicted by a federal grand jury on Sep. 18, 2018. He pleaded guilty on Feb. 20, 2019.

Earlier, in December of 2017, Zelyakovsky had been stopped by a New York police officer for a traffic stop from which he fled on foot, carrying a bag containing $11,000 in cash and vials of cocaine, prosecutors said. Zelyakovsky "waived venue" and pled guilty to the New York offenses in Colorado, the USAO's office said.

“Thanks to an alert CSP officer, these drugs are off the streets,” said Denver U.S. Attorney Jason Dunn. “Drug dealers should know that trying to pass through Colorado is risky business. We will catch them and we will prosecute them.”

“This drug dealer had been making huge profits by selling illicit drugs as a multi-state broker,” said Special Agent In Charge Steven Cagen, Homeland Security Investigations Denver. “Now he’s lost his profits, and he’s lost his freedom for 34 months.”