(StraightShooterNews.com) – Federal authorities have dealt a massive blow to the illegal drug trade by dismantling one of the largest counterfeit pill networks in New England.
Centered in Connecticut, the operation was churning out hundreds of thousands of potentially lethal fake prescription drugs.
This bust highlights the ongoing battle against Chinese-sourced drug components that are flooding American communities with deadly narcotics.
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) reported that this seizure of fake pills was one of the largest ever in New England, marking a major milestone in the fight against the opioid epidemic plaguing the nation.
In a significant victory, federal officials also arrested seven individuals involved in the advanced counterfeit synthetic opioids operation.
A federal grand jury in Bridgeport indicted the seven suspects from New Haven, West Haven and Waterbury, sending a clear message that drug traffickers will face the full force of the law.
Spearheaded by the DEA New Haven’s Tactical Diversion Squad and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the investigation revealed the alarming scope of this criminal enterprise.
The counterfeit pills included fake versions of oxycodone, Xanax and Adderall, containing dangerous substances such as methamphetamine, protonitazene, dimethylpentylone and xylazine.
“This investigation reveals the constant challenges that we in law enforcement face in battling the proliferation of synthetic opioids in America,” U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery said in a statement.
The operation’s origins trace back to June 2023, when authorities identified a New Haven resident using a pill press to manufacture counterfeit pills.
Further investigation uncovered a complex network where suspects purchased substances and pill press parts from China and elsewhere, manufactured pills in a rented garage in East Haven and sold them on the dark web.
The scale of this operation is staggering. Between February 2023 and February 2024, one suspect alone shipped over 1,300 packages through the U.S. mail.
Even more alarming, one of the seized pill presses was capable of producing 100,000 pills per hour, flooding streets with potentially lethal substances at an unprecedented rate.
The crackdown came to a head on September 5, when five suspects were arrested, and several locations were searched.
Law enforcement uncovered hundreds of thousands of pills and pill manufacturing equipment, effectively shutting down this massive drug factory.
“This country is in the midst of a catastrophic overdose epidemic where the threat from synthetic opioids and methamphetamine disguised in fake prescription medication remains high,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Stephen Belleau in a statement.
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