US sanctions 2 Indian nationals, online pharmacy for supplying fentanyl-laden pills. Know their modus operandi

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on two Indian nationals, Sadiq Abbas Habib Sayyed and Khizar Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh, for their involvement in supplying significant amounts of counterfeit prescription pills filled with fentanyl and other illicit drugs to victims across America.

Along with these two persons, the body has also identified an India-based online pharmacy for its role in these criminal operations, a release said.

What are the charges against the offenders?

Both offenders were linked to Dominican Republic and US-based narcotics traffickers and sold counterfeit pills across the country. They fulfilled the deed by marketing and selling these pills as discounted, legitimate pharmaceutical products. However, upon inspection, it was found that these pills were instead filled with illicit drugs like fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, and methamphetamine.

Both Sayyed and Shaikh have used encrypted messaging platforms to run their illegal business and sell their product to the victims. The offenders were previously indicted in September 2024 on narcotics-related charges by a federal grand jury sitting in the Southern District of New York.

Other than that, Shaikh is the owner of KS International Traders (also known as KS Pharmacy), an online pharmacy which was used to conduct these criminal activities. Even after being exposed for his criminal activity in DOJ’s 2024 indictment, Shaikh continued to operate the pharmacy, the release noted.

Why is fentanyl considered harmful?

Fentanyl has been the main cause of the synthetic opioid crisis, which led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Opioid overdose remains the leading cause of death among Americans aged 18 to 45.

Under the US-India Drug Policy Framework, both countries continue to work together to address the fatal impact of illegal drugs and to put an end to this threat by combating drug trafficking, improving public health, and strengthening global supply chains.

“Too many families have been torn apart by fentanyl. Today, we are acting to hold accountable those who profit from this poison,” said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence John K. Hurley in the statement.

Mexican cartels source opiods from online suppliers

In the last few years, online suppliers of controlled substances, including some based in India, have fuelled America's fentanyl crisis by supplying illicit fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, as well as related precursor chemicals, to the US.

Meanwhile, Mexican cartels source precursor chemicals from these online suppliers for use in their clandestine fentanyl laboratories, the release added.