LI man arrested in worldwide Internet scam

A Long Island man was among eight people arrested around the world Wednesday on charges of operating a secretive, highly sophisticated Internet site called the Farmer's Market that trafficked in illegal drugs, according to federal officials in Los Angeles.

Jonathan Dugan, 27, of North Babylon, was arrested at his home, and was charged with drug trafficking and money laundering, along with the other defendants who lived in the United States, the Netherlands and Argentina, according to the U.S. attorney's office in Los Angeles.

The Farmer's Market site allowed sellers and buyers of controlled substances to get together anonymously and traffic in drugs such as LSD, Ecstasy, mescaline and high-quality marijuana, the indictment said.

Between January 2007 and October 2009, the site handled 5,000 sales of controlled substances that were valued at $1 million, officials said.