NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT

Washington, D.C., September 25, 2025: The USA has sanctioned two Indian nationals and a web-based pharmacy for allegedly supplying counterfeit prescription drugs laced with fentanyl and different illicit medicine, in a transfer aimed toward tightening the crackdown on international opioid trafficking.

The U.S. Division of the Treasury’s Workplace of Overseas Property Management (OFAC) on Wednesday introduced sanctions towards Sadiq Abbas Habib Sayyed and Khizar Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh, together with their entity KS Worldwide Merchants, often known as “KS Pharmacy.” The people are accused of utilizing the net platform to market drugs to American patrons as respectable discounted prescription drugs, which had been in reality counterfeit and dangerously addictive.

“Too many households have been torn aside by fentanyl. Right now, we’re appearing to carry accountable those that revenue from this poison,” stated John Ok. Hurley, Beneath Secretary for Terrorism and Monetary Intelligence.

The sanctions had been imposed below Government Order 14059, which targets the worldwide proliferation of illicit medicine. Because of this, any belongings the designated people and entity could maintain within the U.S. are frozen, and American people and companies are barred from participating in transactions with them.

U.S. authorities stated the 2 males had already been indicted in 2024 by a federal grand jury within the Southern District of New York on narcotics-related prices. Regardless of the indictment, KS Pharmacy allegedly continued its operations, utilizing encrypted messaging apps, cryptocurrency transactions, and false claims of legitimacy to masks illicit drug gross sales. The community additionally reportedly coordinated with traffickers within the Dominican Republic and inside the U.S.

Treasury officers burdened that the sanctions kind a part of broader efforts to disrupt the circulate of artificial opioids, significantly fentanyl, which has been linked to document numbers of overdose deaths in america. By reducing off monetary networks and blocking entry to U.S. markets, officers stated they hope to discourage others working related cross-border trafficking schemes.

The transfer can also be prone to put strain on India, a serious hub for international pharmaceutical manufacturing, to tighten oversight and cooperate on investigations into the misuse of pharmaceutical provide chains.