Sept. 16, 2019 By Allie Griffin
Eight men were arrested for operating a mail-order opioid pill ring out of a Queens warehouse on Thursday morning.
The men allegedly imported millions of opioid pills from India, repackaged them inside the warehouse and mailed them to customers throughout the U.S. during an over 18-month period, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn.
Since January 2018, the men imported and distributed the opioid pills, including the synthetic opioid Tramadol, the release stated. The pills were also misbranded.
The defendants wrote detailed daily ledgers with the names, addresses, pill size and pill amounts ordered by customers, according to the release.
Five of the defendants live in Queens including Long Island City, Richmond Hill and Jamaica; while three lived in Long Island. The defendants named are Ezhil Sezhian Kamaldoss, Harpreet Singh, Parthiban Narayanasamy, Baljeet Singh, Deepak Manchanda, Gulab Gulab, Mukul Chugh and Vikas M. Verma.
All eight men are charged with conspiring to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance and Sezhian Kamaldoss is also charged with money laundering.
“As alleged, the defendants participated in a black market for prescription medications by distributing millions of opioid pills in tens of thousands of transactions in one year alone,” United States Attorney Richard Donoghue said.
If convicted, Sezhian Kamaldoss faces up to 25 years’ imprisonment. The remaining defendants each face up to five years’ imprisonment.
“American communities continue to be plagued by synthetic opioids, often at the hands of dealers like those accused in this investigation,” said HSI Special Agent-in-Charge Peter Fitzhugh.
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