An illegal drug network spanning the United States, the Dominican Republic, and India has been exposed for packaging synthetic opioids into pills disguised as common prescription drugs. Federal prosecutors revealed that millions of these potentially deadly counterfeit pills were distributed through fake online drugstores.
Tragically, at least nine individuals lost their lives between August 2023 and June 2024 due to narcotics poisoning after consuming these counterfeit pills. The indictment unveiled in federal court in Manhattan outlined that the mastermind behind this operation, Francisco Alberto Lopez Reyes, orchestrated the scheme from the Dominican Republic.
Lopez Reyes directed his co-conspirators to establish numerous online pharmacies that closely resembled legitimate e-commerce platforms. These fake websites enticed customers into purchasing synthetic opioids, including methamphetamine, disguised as popular prescription medications like Adderall, Xanax, and oxycodone.
The counterfeit pills were sold to tens of thousands of Americans across all 50 states, as well as customers in Puerto Rico, Germany, and Slovenia. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams emphasized during a news conference that the websites and pills created by the defendants appeared authentic but were, in fact, dangerous counterfeits.
Authorities disclosed that the fake pills were produced in New York using fentanyl smuggled from Mexico. The criminal enterprise operated underground pill mills in the Bronx and Manhattan, where they manufactured up to 100,000 pills every 12 hours using custom molds to press powdered narcotics.
A raid conducted on one of these pill mills in Manhattan in May 2023 resulted in the seizure of over 200,000 pills, along with significant quantities of powdered narcotics. Following the delivery of orders, the conspirators aggressively marketed more drugs to customers through incessant calls and texts, with some individuals having to block multiple phone numbers to halt the solicitations.
One victim, a 45-year-old Army National Guard veteran named Holly Holderbaum, unknowingly purchased counterfeit oxycodone pills in February 2024. Tragically, Holderbaum passed away five days after receiving the pills, with 46 counterfeit pills found near her bedside. The pills were composed of fentanyl and para-fluorofentanyl, leading to Holderbaum's cause of death being acute fentanyl intoxication.
The prevalence of fentanyl-related deaths has surged in recent years, affecting individuals of all ages across the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that synthetic opioids were responsible for over 78,000 overdose deaths between June 2022 and June 2023, comprising 92% of all opioid-related fatalities during that period.
Administrator of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, Anne Milgram, described fentanyl as the most addictive and lethal drug threat the nation has ever encountered. Milgram highlighted the affordability and potency of fentanyl, emphasizing its highly addictive and deadly nature even in minuscule quantities.
