Sept. 25 (UPI) — The United States has blacklisted two Indian nationals accused of operating online pharmacies selling illegal, counterfeit drugs to unsuspecting Americans.
The Treasury sanctioned Abbas Habib Sayyed, 39, and Khizar Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh, 34, as well as Shaikh’s KS International Traders online pharmacy on Wednesday for their alleged role in supplying hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills filled with fentanyl, fentanyl analogs and methamphetamine in the United States.
“Too many families have been torn apart by fentanyl,” John Hurley, under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence at the Treasury, said in a statement.
“Today, we are acting to hold accountable those who profit from this poison.”
Sayyed and Shaikh were among 18 people indicted in New York in September of last year on accusations of selling counterfeit pills to American over the Internet and via encrypted messaging platforms. The fugitives, if convicted, face a mandatory 20 years in prison to life, according to the Justice Department.
In October, the Drug Enforcement Administration issued a public safety alert warning the public to the dangers posed by these bogus online pharmacies that sell and ship counterfeit pills made of fentanyl and methamphetamine to U.S. customers who believe they are purchasing genuine brand-name drugs, such as Oxycodone, Adderall, Xanax and others.
The DEA said it has identified many of the sites as being operated in India and the Dominican Republic.
Treasury officials on Wednesday said Sayyed and Shaikh work with Dominican Republic- and U.S.-based traffickers to sell their counterfeit pills, which are marketed as discounted, legitimate drugs, but are filled with fentanyl and methamphetamine.
“Both Sayyed and Shaikh have used encrypted messaging platforms to conduct their illegal business and market their product to victims,” the Treasury said.
Despite the indictment, the Treasury said Shaikh continues to operate KS International Traders.
The sanctions freeze all U.S.-based property and assets of those designated and bar U.S. persons from doing business with them.