US-India Crackdown on Online Drug Traffickers Linked to 6 Overdose Deaths

The US Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) said that they arrested four people in the US and seized 200 websites linked to a "transnational criminal organisation" (TCO) based in India during "Operation Meltdown".

"Leveraging its global reach, DEA actively collaborates with our Government of India law enforcement partners to identify, investigate, and dismantle dangerous criminal organisations that engage in these types of illegal drug trafficking operations," the agency said.

DEA Administrator Terrance Cole, announcing the crackdown, said: "This case demonstrates how foreign-based traffickers exploit our healthcare system, hide behind the internet, and use people inside the United States to move dangerous drugs under the guise of legitimate commerce."

The DEA and the US prosecutor's office for Eastern New York, based in Brooklyn, said they seized the websites, which they said were made to look like genuine pharmacy sites but were dispensing drugs illegally.

The DEA said that it had identified thousands of customers who used these online pharmacies, and it has sent more than 20,000 letters to the public requesting information in support of this ongoing investigation. dangerous drugs under the guise of legitimate commerce."

The TCO, which the officials did not identify, had been under investigation since 2022 by the DEA field office in Colorado, the agency said.

Following that up, DEA field offices across the US conducted several raids from January 27, arresting the four people, who were also not identified, it said.

The DEA said that it also issued five Immediate Suspension Orders (ISO) and one Order to Show Cause (OTSC) against the "pharmacies" that may have had some form of DEA registration.

According to the DEA, the "online pharmacies" that it took down had US website addresses and professional-looking designs to falsely make them appear legitimate.

The counterfeit medications they dispensed "are often made with fentanyl or methamphetamine and taking them can lead to serious health risks, including harmful side effects, ineffective treatment, and even death", it said.

Investigators found that the online pharmacies and their co-conspirators illegally dispensed and shipped diverted medications, without valid prescriptions, to customers throughout the US, violating the Controlled Substances Act, the DEA said.

Through these operations, the drug traffickers were "dangerously infiltrating a closed system of distribution intended to keep patients safe" by requiring doctors' prescriptions, it said.

President Donald Trump had made the war on illegal drugs, particularly fentanyl, a key goal.

According to the US government, 73,000 people died of drug overdose in the US during the 12-month period ending in August.

Trump threatened China, the major source of precursor chemicals for making fentanyl, with tariffs and other punitive actions.

He said that involvement in drug trafficking was a major reason for removing Venezuela's former President, Nicolas Maduro.

The US has attacked boats allegedly ferrying drugs while Trump threatened action against Colombia, Mexico and other countries.

However, he has not targeted India because of the cooperation of the Indian government in fighting drug trafficking and India being only a minor source of illegal drugs in the overall picture.

--IANS

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Arul Louis

Correspondent | International Affairs | United Nations | New York

IANS Indo-Asian News Service

+1 212 986 7936 | www.ians.in | @arulouis

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- IANS