Police arrested 6 people on suspicion of working for a cocaine and heroin delivery service that appears to be linked to the death of HQ Trivia's cofounder
- Law enforcement officials have arrested six men on charges of working for a drug delivery service that is linked to the death of Colin Kroll, the cofounder of HQ Trivia and Vine who died of an overdose at 34.
- The New York delivery service, known as Mike's Candyshop, allegedly took orders by phone and distributed heroin and cocaine.
- Kroll was found unresponsive in his Manhattan apartment and pronounced dead on December 16, 2018. Officials have not publicly named him as the victim associated with the service.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Police have arrested six members on suspicion of being part of a drug delivery service that sold heroin and cocaine to Colin Kroll, the 34-year-old cofounder of HQ Trivia and Vine who died of an overdose last year.
There is at least one overdose death linked to the organization, and though the United States attorney's office has not released a name, an official with knowledge of the case told The New York Times that the victim was Kroll. The entrepreneur was found unresponsive in his Manhattan apartment and pronounced dead on December 16.
Kroll was known for his role in creating two of the most viral apps of the last decade, HQ Trivia and Vine. He previously worked at Yahoo.
A spokesperson for HQ Trivia did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
Read more: The career of Colin Kroll, the cofounder of Vine and HQ Trivia, who has died at age 34
The drug delivery service, known as Mike's Candyshop, enabled customers to place an order by phone and arranged for a courier to make the delivery within hours, according to a release from the United States attorney's office for the Southern District of New York.
"This illicit enterprise allegedly allowed people to order heroin and cocaine to their doorstep simply by calling the business phone number with the same convenience as if they were ordering a pizza," Peter C. Fitzhugh, the special agent in charge of the New York Field Office of Homeland Security Investigations, said in a statement.
The six men were charged with conspiring to distribute heroin and cocaine, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison. There were no charges related to the death.
The press release described a victim who died of an overdose in Manhattan, where police found empty vials like the ones distributed by Mike's Candyshop. The victim's cell phone had text messages showing that they ordered drugs from the drug trafficking group.