Drug company official gets 7 years for illegal drug imports

A partner in a drug company based in India that made about $3.5 million by selling and shipping millions of illegal and unapproved pills to the U.S. to people who did not have prescriptions has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
Manish Kumar, 34, was a partner in Mihu Business Solutions Pvt., Ltd., a Mumbai-based drug company which he operated through multiple entities, including All Herb Distributors, 365 Life Group, and Health Life 365 Co., federal prosecutors in Boston said in a statement Thursday.
The pills shipped from 2015 until 2019 included generic erectile dysfunction drugs, and opioids such as hydrocodone, oxycodone, tapentadol, and tramadol, prosecutors said.
Kumar’s operation directly marketed drugs to customers in the U.S. through advertising and calls to prospective customers from call centers in India, authorities said. He personally directed and managed shipments of drugs from suppliers in Singapore and India.
After his arrest, Kumar lied to law enforcement in February 2020 about his involvement in the sale of controlled substances, prosecutors said.
He pleaded guilty in October to charges including conspiracy to import misbranded prescription drugs and controlled substances and making false statements to federal officers.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.