(Image source from: Patch)
The United States authorities have busted a drug distribution ring run by eight Indian origin people that were involved in importing millions of opioid pills from India, according to authorities.
All the eight, found to be residents of New York City, were arrested on Thursday morning. They received opioids from India after mislabeling it to hide their illegal nature and then defendants mailed them to the customers in the U.S., the Justice Department said.
However, the authorities so far did not identify those who allegedly sent the drugs from India.
The defendants participated in a black market for prescription medications by distributing millions of opioid pills in tens of thousands of transactions in one year alone, federal prosecutor Richard Donoghue said.
Those arrested and charged were identified as Ezhil Sezhian Kamaldoss, Harpreet Singh, Parthiban Narayanasamy, Baljeet Singh, Deepak Manchanda, Gulab Gulab, Mukul Chugh, and Vikas M Verma. Besides drug distribution charges, Kamaldoss also faces money laundering charges.
According to a statement by the Justice Department, distributors in India shipped misbranded Tramadol, an opioid pain medication, and other drugs to individuals and organizations in the United States via the postal system and commercial couriers.
The department also said, in their operations, they maintained daily record books detailing the names, addresses, pill size and pill amounts ordered by customers.
The defendants distributed millions of Tramadol pills, the department said.
Mark McCormack, the Special Agent-in-Charge of the Food and Drug Administration, said that the illegal distribution of opioids was fueling the national crisis with about 47,600 deaths reported from overdoses in 2017, according to government statistics.
By Sowmya Sangam
