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U.S. Sanctions Two Indian Nationals and Online Pharmacy Over Fentanyl-Laced Counterfeit Pills

Using E.O. 14059, Treasury froze assets to escalate a coordinated crackdown on illegal online pharmacies.

Overview

  • OFAC named Sadiq Abbas Habib Sayyed and Khizar Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh and designated Shaikh’s KS International Traders, also known as KS Pharmacy.
  • The action blocks all U.S.-controlled property, bars U.S. persons from transactions with the targets, and carries potential civil or criminal penalties for violations.
  • Officials say the pair worked with traffickers in the Dominican Republic and the United States, using encrypted messaging to sell pills marketed as legitimate medicines but filled with fentanyl, a fentanyl analogue, and methamphetamine.
  • Both men were indicted by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York in September 2024, and OFAC says Shaikh continued operating KS International Traders after that indictment.
  • The move was coordinated with DOJ, DEA, HSI, IRS–Criminal Investigations, and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and highlights the growing role of India-based online suppliers in feeding U.S. demand and precursor supply chains.