Washington, 25 Sept

The US Treasury has sanctioned two Indian nationals and an India-based online pharmacy for supplying counterfeit prescription pills containing fentanyl and other illicit drugs to victims across the United States.

Sadiq Abbas Habib Sayyed and Khizar Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh were sanctioned “for their role in collectively supplying hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills filled with fentanyl and other illicit drugs,” according to the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

The two individuals reportedly collaborated with narcotics traffickers based in the Dominican Republic and the US to market and sold counterfeit pills as legitimate discounted pharmaceuticals. In reality, the pills contained fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, and methamphetamine. They used encrypted messaging platforms to conduct business and reach victims.

Khizar Shaikh also owns the sanctioned online pharmacy, KS International Traders (KS Pharmacy), which was used to further the illicit operations. Under the sanctions, all property and interests of the two individuals located in the US or controlled by US persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC.

Fentanyl has been a primary driver of the synthetic opioid crisis, responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths in the US, particularly among people aged 18 to 45.

The US and India continue to collaborate under the US-India Drug Policy Framework to combat global drug trafficking and strengthen public health.