Ten individuals, including five pharmaceutical distributor executives and five sales representatives and brokers, have been charged by the Department of Justice in connection with the unlawful distribution of nearly 70 million opioid pills and over 30 million doses of commonly abused prescription drugs.
These charges stem from law enforcement operations targeting pill-mill pharmacies in the Houston area and were unsealed in federal courts across multiple states including Texas, Florida, Missouri and North Carolina, according to an Oct. 3 Department of Justice news release.
Three pharmacy operators from the Houston area were also charged for their involvement. According to court documents, the drugs included potent opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone and hydromorphone. The distributors are accused of selling these drugs at inflated prices to customers who would likely sell them on the black market as well as prescription drugs that enhance the opioids.
Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri emphasized that the defendants allegedly exploited the opioid crisis for profit, resulting in a staggering black-market value of $1.3 billion for drugs involved.
Nine individuals have already pleaded guilty in connection with the case.