The US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), working with the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York, on February 4 seized more than 200 website domains tied to an India-based transnational criminal organization (TCO) operating within the United States. The group is alleged to be responsible for at least six fatal and four non-fatal overdoses.
The TCO has been under investigation by the DEA’s Rocky Mountain Field Division since 2022. Beginning January 27, 2026, DEA field offices nationwide conducted multiple operations that resulted in the arrest of four individuals and the issuance of five Immediate Suspension Orders (ISOs) and one Order to Show Cause (OTSC), administrative actions taken against DEA registrants to protect public health and safety.
In addition to the arrests and orders, the US government shut down over 200 online pharmacies accused of filling hundreds of thousands of orders for diverted pharmaceuticals and counterfeit pills without valid prescriptions. Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), pharmacies may only dispense controlled substances upon receipt of a valid prescription issued for a legitimate medical purpose by a practitioner acting in the usual course of professional practice.
Investigators found the online operators and their co-conspirators were illegally dispensing and shipping diverted medications without valid prescriptions, breaching the CSA and undermining the closed distribution system designed to keep patients safe. The DEA identified thousands of customers who purchased medications through these sites and has mailed more than 20,000 letters to the public seeking information for the ongoing investigation.
