Federal prosecutors announced on Sept. 30 that they indicted 18 drug trafficking suspects linked to a network that allegedly distributed synthetic opioids disguised as prescription drugs through fraudulent online drugstores.
Between August 2023 and June 2024, nine people died from taking the counterfeit medication.
According to an indictment unsealed in a Manhattan federal court, Francisco Reyes was the alleged leader of the operation in the Dominican Republic.
He allegedly directed his co-conspirators to run online pharmacies resembling legitimate sites that were promoted to sell Adderall, Xanax, and oxycodone, but were in fact methamphetamine and potent synthetic opioids.
U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said at a press conference on Monday that tens of thousands of Americans in all 50 states purchased these counterfeit pills, in addition to buyers in Puerto Rico, Germany, and Slovenia….