The Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed sanctions on two Indian nationals, Sadiq Abbas Habib Sayyed and Khizar Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh, for their involvement in the collective distribution of hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl and other illicit substances to victims across the United States.
OFAC has also designated the online pharmacy based in India, KS International Traders (also known as “KS Pharmacy”), for its role in these criminal activities. Sayyed and Shaikh, both based in India, worked with drug traffickers in the Dominican Republic and the United States to sell counterfeit pills to Americans.
Sayyed marketed and sold these pills as discounted, legitimate pharmaceutical products, but they were actually filled with illicit drugs such as fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and methamphetamines. Both Sayyeds and Shaikhs used encrypted messaging platforms to conduct their illegal business.
Fentanyl has been the primary driver of the synthetic opioid crisis, which is responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans. Opioid overdose remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45.
