July 17, 2023: The Cooper Davis Act heads out of committee
This week: The Cooper Davis Act has passed out of committee and is on its way to the Senate floor for a vote. Counterfeit and unlicensed medical products were seized in the U.K. and warned about in Spain. Prosecutions in 13 states involved the trafficking of counterfeit pills and related deaths.
National News
The Cooper Davis Act has passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The U.S. Treasury issued new sanctions against those with close ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.
The Cooper Davis Act establishes requirements for online platforms to report drug sellers to the DEA. Watch the video | Read the bill | Support the legislation
The Senate Judiciary Committee has passed the Cooper Davis Act, (S.1080) out of committee so that it can be voted on in the Senate. This bill would require social media platforms to report to law enforcement when a user is selling illicit substances, including counterfeit pills, on their platform.
The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control issued sanctions against ten individuals related to key members of the Sinaloa Cartel and one Mexican company due to the cartel’s extensive ties to the production and distribution of illicit fentanyl.
International News
Shanghai resident sentenced in counterfeit cat medicine case. Counterfeit medicine seized in the U.K. Warning about counterfeit products in Spain. India continues to grapple with its counterfeit medicine crisis.
A Shanghai, China woman was sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined US$5.6 million dollars for producing and selling counterfeit medicines for cats.
The U.K’s Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) seized thousands of suspected unlicensed medical products from multiple residences and businesses in Bolton, Greater Manchester.
The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products issued a warning about unauthorized products being sold in the country with counterfeit CE marketing certificates.
Gaps in India’s regulation of its massive pharmaceutical industry enabled deadly cough syrup to be shipped to multiple countries around the world, killing children in multiple countries. Law enforcement recently busted another counterfeiting group producing multiple counterfeits, including cough syrup, in Agra.
Law enforcement authorities in Mexico and the U.S. took action in June against a drug trafficking organization based out of Nogales, Mexico, seizing 120,000 fentanyl pills and arresting a total of nine people in both countries.
Charges were filed against two residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada in the province’s first-ever pill press seizure. These charges stem from Operation Rhino, which Canadian law enforcement ran between the fall of 2019 and the summer of 2020.
Prosecutions
Massachusetts man admitted to trafficking large quantities of counterfeit Adderall pills. Missouri resident sentenced for injecting patients with non-FDA-approved Botox and dermal fillers. News about prosecutions involving fentanyl pills in 12 states.
Counterfeit Adderall pills seized by the Massachusetts State Police.
A Leominster, Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in federal court in a case involving the possession and trafficking of a large quantity of counterfeit Adderall pills that contained methamphetamine.
A Shawnee, Missouri man was sentenced for injecting non-FDA-approved Botox and dermal fillers into clients at his unlicensed medical spa. At least ten patients were injured, including one who needed to be seen by a plastic surgeon.
State and federal courts charged defendants in cases involving counterfeit pills that killed or harmed people in New York City, New York, Nibley, Utah, Wichita, Kansas, I-40 at Route 66, New Mexico, Rockland County, New York, Bowling Green, Kentucky, Bismarck, North Dakota
People were also convicted or sentenced in cases involving counterfeit pills in San Francisco, California, Pocatello, Idaho, Greenbelt, Maryland, East Grand Forks and Minneapolis, Minnesota, Wheeling, West Virginia, and Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Seizures
Counterfeit pills made with fentanyl seized in five states.
Customs and Border Protection seized 287,000 fentanyl pills from the gas tank of a car at the Port of Entry in Nogales, Arizona.
Counterfeit pills were also confiscated in Phoenix, Arizona, Arvin, California, South Haven, Michigan, Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Exmore, Virginia.
Images of seizures at the Port of Nogales. (Source: CBP)