NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Washington, D.C., September 25, 2025: The United States has sanctioned two Indian nationals and an online pharmacy for allegedly supplying counterfeit prescription pills laced with fentanyl and other illicit drugs, in a move aimed at tightening the crackdown on global opioid trafficking.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) on Wednesday announced sanctions against Sadiq Abbas Habib Sayyed and Khizar Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh, along with their entity KS International Traders, also known as “KS Pharmacy.” The individuals are accused of using the online platform to market pills to American buyers as legitimate discounted pharmaceuticals, which were in fact counterfeit and dangerously addictive.
“Too many families have been torn apart by fentanyl. Today, we are acting to hold accountable those who profit from this poison,” said John K. Hurley, Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
The sanctions were imposed under Executive Order 14059, which targets the international proliferation of illicit drugs. As a result, any assets the designated individuals and entity may hold in the U.S. are frozen, and American individuals and businesses are barred from engaging in transactions with them.
U.S. authorities said the two men had already been indicted in 2024 by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York on narcotics-related charges. Despite the indictment, KS Pharmacy allegedly continued its operations, using encrypted messaging apps, cryptocurrency transactions, and false claims of legitimacy to mask illicit drug sales. The network also reportedly coordinated with traffickers in the Dominican Republic and within the U.S.
Treasury officials stressed that the sanctions form part of broader efforts to disrupt the flow of synthetic opioids, particularly fentanyl, which has been linked to record numbers of overdose deaths in the United States. By cutting off financial networks and blocking access to U.S. markets, officials said they hope to deter others operating similar cross-border trafficking schemes.
The move is also likely to put pressure on India, a major hub for global pharmaceutical manufacturing, to tighten oversight and cooperate on investigations into the misuse of pharmaceutical supply chains.
