Illegal Online Chemical and Drug Distributors

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A Chicago, IL resident is accused of illegally selling drugs online under the name Ark Pharm Inc. A dozen packages were seized from China addressed to Ark Pharm in 2013-2014 which led to an investigation. From 2016-2017, Ark Pharm made nearly 29,000 shipments of their products including the synthetic opiate fentanyl, fentanyl precursors, and "bath salts" through their website which has been seized. A multi-jurisdictional task force with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) raided the warehouse and charged the president of the company with conspiracy to knowingly and intentionally possess controlled substances with intent to distribute. Ark Pharm is believed to have employed 15-20 people at their warehouse.

Law enforcement seized another online drug marketplace based in Mundelein, IL.  1717 CheMall Corp.’s website sold fentanyl, oxycodone, hydrocodone and other opiates. The owner, believed to be working alone, has been charged with one count of knowingly distributing a controlled substance. DEA agents say they successfully made multiple purchases from both companies, which are registered with the state as “domestic corporations.” Neither have federal licenses to handle narcotics and both used FedEx to ship their products. Before completing purchases, the companies required signatures on a disclaimer that said the available drugs were for “laboratory use only.” This is a common disclaimer “used by internet drug traffickers on the mistaken belief that it absolves them of criminal liability for distributing controlled substances” one agent testified.

Following a major case in 2007, a San Diego grand jury handed down a 313-count indictment against 18 people, charging them with operating an illegal online pharmacy that netted >$126 million over two years. The charges included everyone from doctors and druggists to credit card processors and affiliated advertisers.

While there are legitimate U.S. pharmaceutical companies online that follow all the laws and regulations, many are operating illegally. Such businesses fill orders without prescriptions and pay doctors to skim a brief medical questionnaire. The drugs they sell may be past their expiration date, counterfeit, mislabeled, adulterated, or contaminated. They could also be made using raw materials from unregistered laboratories locally or abroad not subjected to FDA regulations. Legitimate pharmacies require: 1) a prescription from a licensed doctor by mail or fax 2) a detailed medical history 3) clearly state their payment, privacy, and shipping fees 4) use secure or encrypted website connections for transactions.

Comments

  1. B Rand CSeptember 22, 2020 at 6:46 PM

    Part of the issue is how to differentiate legitimate online pharmacies versus the illegal ones you’ve highlighted here. Part of the challenge is pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) are controlled by 3 dominate players (CVS Caremark, ESI, and OptumRx control >76% of the total pharmacy market), so they have put in place anti-competitive practices to keep competition out and push more prescriptions (ie $$$ Via a non transparent rebate system) through their own mail order delivery services or traditional brick and mortar pharmacies. It will be interesting to see how Amazon, following its acquisition of Pillpack, will attack this sector and try to cut out the PBMs (or partner?) and bring more affordable and convenient prescriptions to patients.

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