Schenectady Man Arrested on Drug Charges

ALBANY, NEW YORK – Daniel Scotsross, age 28, of Schenectady, New York, was arrested last week and charged with attempting to possess with the intent to distribute N-dimethyltryptamine (“DMT”), a hallucinogen similar to lysergic acid diethylamide (“LSD”), announced United States Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Kevin Kelly, Special Agent in Charge of the Buffalo Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Scotsross appeared last week before United States Magistrate Daniel J. Stewart and was released pending further proceedings. The criminal complaint alleges that on July 22, 2020, Scotsross accepted a package addressed to him at his Schenectady residence that contained what he expected to be over ten kilograms of tree-bark laced with DMT. Thereafter, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Scotsross’s Schenectady residence, seizing quantities of DMT and LSD, and substances and equipment used to manufacture and process DMT and LSD for distribution. The charges in the complaint are merely accusations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

The charge filed against Scotsross carries a maximum sentence of 20 years imprisonment, a fine of up to $1,000,000, and a term of supervised release of three years to life. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the United States Postal Inspection Service, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, with the assistance of the Schenectady Police Department, Albany County Sheriff’s Department, and the New York State Police Crime Scene Emergency Response Team, and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ashlyn Miranda.