Pharmacist Among Group Convicted for Role in Illegal Online Drug Distribution Operation

A Tampa, FL, pharmacist was convicted by a federal jury for unlawfully dispensing hydrocodone pills for a ring of illegal online drug sellers that trafficked hydrocodone and other painkillers to consumers across the country. A Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation has so far convicted a total of 13 people, including doctors and other pharmacists, for their roles in the operation. The rogue Internet drug outlets allowed patients to “prescribe” themselves any drug they wished and even allocate the drug’s quantity and strength. Conspiring pharmacies then shipped the drug products to thousands of customers across the country, including “millions of dollars’ worth of highly addictive prescription painkillers.”