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Fentanyl ingredients entering Canada via Vancouver en route to cartel-run drug labs, U.S. DEA boss says

posted 7 days ago
Chemicals used to make fentanyl are streaming into the Port of Vancouver on their way to drug labs run by Mexican cartels on Canadian soil, the head of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration told senators in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. Read Article #Fentanyl #EmergingDrugTrends #DrugTraffickingOrganization(DTO) #Adulterants/Precursors

Texas Doctor Convicted for Illegally Distributing More than a Million Pills

posted 16 days ago
A federal jury in the Southern District of Texas convicted a Texas physician yesterday for unlawfully distributing more than a million pills of opioids and other dangerous controlled substances. “Medical physicians who exploit their prescribing authority for profit over patient care break an inherent trust with their patients and we will hold them accountable,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “The Department of Justice remains committed to protecting the public from dangerous and unlawful distribution of controlled substances, especially when the drug dealer is a doctor.” “Patients ...

Man Selling Counterfeit Pills Containing Fentanyl on Social Media Receives 21-Year Sentence

posted 16 days ago
MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – Jayden Isaiah Stephon Gill, 22, of Hagerstown, Maryland, was sentenced today to 260 months in prison for selling fentanyl-laced pills online, announced U.S. Attorney Matthew L. Harvey. Officers in Frederick, Maryland, responded to a suspected overdose of two juvenile females and located blue pills imprinted to mimic Oxycodone prescription medication. The pills were analyzed and were found to contain fentanyl. The investigation led to Gill who traveled from Martinsburg, West Virginia to Frederick, Maryland, to sell the pills which the females believed to be Percocet and ordered from Gill’s social media accounts. Gill, along with ...

Moody announces new legislation cracking down on equipment used to make fake pills

posted 16 days ago
MIAMI — U.S. Sen. Ashley Moody announced new legislation Monday aimed at cracking down on counterfeit drugs. It’s called the “Press Act,” and it would create criminal penalties for illegally importing pill presses -- the equipment used to make fake pills that often end up on our streets. Read Article S.4446 - A bill to amend the Controlled Substances Act to prevent the importation of illicit pill press machines with the intent to counterfeit substances, and for other purposes. #PillPress #NewLegislation #Counterfeit

Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Selling Over $8 Million of Dangerous Recreational Drugs Known as “Poppers” That Were Mislabeled as Tape Cleaner

posted 19 days ago
A Texas man pleaded guilty yesterday to two counts of criminal conspiracy related to misbranding volatile alkyl nitrites, known by their street name as “poppers,” and selling them as inhalants in violation of federal law. Although the labeling for poppers products often misleadingly claims they are sold as cleaning agents, poppers are commonly misused for recreational purposes by being inhaled through the nose. Critically, misuse of volatile alkyl nitrates can cause serious adverse health effects, including irregular heartbeat, vision loss, and death. “The defendant helped sell more than $8 million of dangerous drugs misbranded as cleaning agents, while concealing ...

What is cychlorphine? Fake oxycodone pills may hide deadly synthetic opioids

posted 19 days ago
Crime lab says the drug has been found in fake oxycodone pills across multiple jurisdictions A new synthetic opioid detected in north Louisiana is raising concern among crime lab officials because of its strength and the way it is being disguised. Read Full Article #Louisiana #EmergingDrugTrends #Cychlorphine #SafetyAlerts

Pharmacy Technician Pleads Guilty to $5.6M Health Care Fraud Scheme and Illegal Distribution of Oxycodone

posted 20 days ago
A Michigan man pleaded guilty yesterday to defrauding health care benefit programs, including Medicare and Medicaid, by billing for prescription medications that he never dispensed and providing unlawful prescriptions of oxycodone to drug traffickers in exchange for cash. According to court documents, Ali Naserdean, 32, of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, was a pharmacy technician at three metro-Detroit pharmacies. From 2019 through 2022, Naserdean and his co-conspirator submitted false and fraudulent claims to health care benefit programs for prescription drugs that were not ordered by a doctor and never dispensed to the patient. Naserdean and his co-conspirator ...

Burglary at Tri-State pharmacy sparks federal probe into multi-state crime ring

posted 20 days ago
An early-morning break-in at a small pharmacy last summer in Dearborn County helped crack open a large-scale organized pharmacy burglary investigation spanning multiple states. Read Article #PharmacyBurglary/Robbery #DrugTraffickingOrganization(DTO) #Indiana #Ohio #Idaho

Report: 1 in 5 consumers deceived into buying fake meds

posted 21 days ago
Summary Why this matters: Counterfeit medications are a serious, widespread health risk: Fake drugs are common — especially online — and can contain ineffective or dangerous ingredients that cause illness, injury or death. Consumers often don’t know they’re at risk: Many people trust online pharmacies and feel confident in being able to spot fakes, even though most illegal sellers look legitimate and are hard to detect. Prevention depends on smarter communication: Fear‑based warnings often backfire; empowering, clear and targeted education is more effective at helping people protect their health. Read Article ...

Opioid Manufacturer Purdue Pharma Sentenced for Fraud and Kickback Conspiracies

posted 22 days ago
Opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma LP (Purdue) was sentenced today in federal court in Newark, New Jersey, and ordered to pay criminal penalties of over $5 billion for its role in fueling the opioid epidemic. “Purdue Pharma put profits over patient health and safety,” said Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche. “The company willfully rejected the law and ignored the diversion of their highly addictive prescription drugs. Their actions contributed to the opioid crisis that claimed countless lives and destroyed entire families and communities. Today's sentence is a prime example of the Department’s effort to redress past wrongs by rooting out and punishing unlawful ...

Queens Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to Over Five Years in Prison for Money Laundering Scheme

posted 26 days ago
A New York man, Taesung “Terry” Kim, 61, of Harrison, New York, was sentenced today to 63 months in prison for conspiring to launder the proceeds of a $24.4 million pharmacy fraud scheme. “Mr. Kim’s scheme to pad his pockets with $24 million in taxpayer dollars by peddling unnecessary prescription drugs is despicable and dangerous,” said Assistant Attorney General Colin M. McDonald of the Justice Department’s National Fraud Enforcement Division. “This administration is making clear: we will hold accountable anyone who jeopardizes the health of millions of American adults by stealing from Medicare.” “Today, Taesung Kim was held accountable for the despicable ...

One in 10 Online Pharmacies Found Website Cloned for Counterfeit GLP-1s

posted 28 days ago
Approximately 1 in 10 online pharmacies had their websites and social media presence cloned in order to trick patients into buying counterfeit weight loss medication, according to a new survey from the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). The NPA, which represents 6000 British pharmacies, has accused social media giants of allowing the proliferation of unregulated and unregistered drugs being peddled as weight loss or beauty treatments on their platforms. Read Article #GLP-1 #Counterfeit #InternetPharmacy #SafetyAlerts

OBN arrests pharmacist for allegedly stealing oxycodone

posted 04-17-2026
An Oklahoma pharmacist has been arrested after being accused of stealing controlled dangerous substances. Read Article #ProviderArrest(s) #Oklahoma #NADDIMemberCase

Michigan Gang Member Pleads Guilty to RICO Conspiracy for Drug Trafficking and Over $500,000 in Fraud

posted 04-16-2026
A Michigan man pleaded guilty yesterday for his role in a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Conspiracy. According to court documents, Jordan Gilmore, 27, of Detroit, is a member of a street gang known as the Purple Heart Vets (PHV) that uses violence, drug trafficking and fraud to enrich its members and fund the criminal enterprise. Gilmore is a self-described founder of PHV and used his rap career to promote the PHV through music and rap videos featuring other members and associates, firearms, cash, expensive cars and jewelry, and the gang’s territory. Gilmore and other PHV members and associates conspired to distribute marijuana, Percocet ...

Criminals cloned one in ten online pharmacy websites in past year, survey shows

posted 04-16-2026
A National Pharmacy Association survey has revealed that two in five online pharmacies reported that patients unknowingly bought weight-loss medication from unregulated providers in the past year. Read Article #SafetyAlerts #Counterfeit #GLP-1

Florida Nursing Assistant Sentenced to Nine Years in Prison for $11.4M Health Care Fraud Scheme Targeting Medicare Beneficiaries

posted 04-14-2026
A Florida nursing assistant was sentenced yesterday to nine years in prison and two years of supervised release for his role in an $11.4 million health care fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in which hundreds of Medicare beneficiaries were sent thousands of orthotic braces they did not need. Cruz was also ordered to pay $3,712,345.70 in restitution and $724,871 in forfeiture. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Christian “Chris” Cruz, 45, of Pompano Beach, Florida, owned and operated a durable medical equipment (DME) supplier based in Florida through which he submitted millions of dollars in false claims to Medicare for medically unnecessary ...

New toxic drugs found in street supply in prompting alerts from health units in much of the northeast

posted 04-09-2026
Canada - North Bay Parry Sound Health Unit reports 13 overdoses, including three deaths in one week in Nipissing area Read Article #Nefopam #Etodezitramide #EmergingDrugTrends #Medetomidine

Multi-agency Investigation into a Large-scale Drug Trafficking Organization

posted 04-07-2026
STATEMENT FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT Today, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Enforcement Team (CET) and the Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office Joint Community Action Team (JCAT), along with several other local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, announced the culmination of a long-term narcotics investigation targeting a major Drug Trafficking Organization (DTO). This DTO was responsible for distributing narcotics throughout the Eastern Shore of Maryland and Virginia, as well as Baltimore, MD, and the lower region of Delaware. This operation led to the seizure of significant quantities of illegal drugs, weapons, and monies associated with the ...

Texas Doctor Charged with Illegally Distributing Millions of Opioid Pills

posted 04-02-2026
An indictment was unsealed today in the Southern District of Texas charging James Robles, 70, of Weslaco, Texas, with operating a cash-only clinic in Houston that he used to sell prescriptions for controlled substances. According to court documents, Robles, a medical doctor licensed to practice in Texas, conspired with others to illegally prescribe oxycodone, hydrocodone and carisoprodol – all controlled substances with substantial street value that were in high demand on Houston’s black market. Operating from his cash-only Houston clinic, Robles allegedly sold prescriptions to “crew leaders” who recruited others to pose as patients, filled Robles’ prescriptions ...

Telemedicine Company Owner Pleads Guilty to $46M Medicare Fraud Scheme

posted 03-27-2026
The owner of a telemedicine company pleaded guilty today to organizing and leading a $46.2 million Medicare fraud conspiracy that spanned more than six years. According to court documents, Christopher Harwood, 43, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, admitted that he owned and operated a telemedicine company called TelevisitMD. Harwood and his co-conspirators targeted Medicare patients through aggressive telemarketing campaigns, inducing them to accept orthotic braces and genetic tests that they did not need. Harwood paid doctors to approve orders for these braces and genetic tests. These doctors did not follow Medicare’s rules for telemedicine visits, did not have ...