Federal agents have charge Rochester Drug Cooperative's CEO with drug trafficking on Tuesday.
These charges are the first of their kind in history. CEO and top executives of pharmaceutical distributor and distributor itself were charged like dealers on the street.
U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman in a statement said, "This prosecution is the first of its kind: executives of a pharmaceutical distributor and the distributor itself have been charged with drug trafficking, trafficking the same drugs that are fueling the opioid epidemic that is ravaging this country. Our Office will do everything in its power to combat this epidemic, from street-level dealers to the executives who illegally distribute drugs from their boardrooms."
The Government is trying to get a handle on the opioid epidemic that is taking lives all across America. It's estimated that the opioid crisis is killing more than 130 Americans every day, according to CDC.
The DEA has been investigating for years whether RDC failed to comply with laws. RDC has paid in previously fines due to RDC failure to correctly report the theft of opioids.
From 2012 to 2106 court records shows, RDC filled more than 1.5 million orders for controlled substances. Within the four year span, the federal prosecutors claim there were at least 2,000 suspicious orders made and RDC has only reported a total of 4 suspicious orders.
Currently, Opioid manufacturers are facing over 1,700 lawsuits due to the epidemic.
Let's see how this will turn out.
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