More than 500 shipments of unapproved prescription pharmaceuticals and synthetic drug precursors were prevented from reaching American consumers as a result of a collaborative effort between India and the US to prohibit international shipments of illegal drugs and medical equipment.
The US embassy in India claimed in a press release on July 7 that “Operation Broader Sword” is a bilateral, multi-agency enforcement initiative that was primarily focused on illicit pharmaceuticals, devices, or precursor chemicals shipped over the international mail system.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), and US Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) collaborated with India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) to conduct the operation which was carried out last month in June. From June 12 to 23, the operation targeted shipments coming into the US from India through the International Mail Facilities (IMFs) at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
As per the statement, the operation stopped “500 shipments of illicit, and potentially dangerous, unapproved prescription drugs, combination medical devices, and synthetic drug precursors from reaching American consumers”.
According to the press release, throughout the operation, investigators looked at over 1500 shipments coming from India and took action on about 500 products, including unlawful and illicit drugs meant to treat or lessen serious illnesses. It was discovered that many shipments contained opioids and other controlled substance drug products.
The statement added, “In anticipation of the Operation, HSI special agents conducted a controlled delivery of a shipment of suspected products resulting in the arrest of an Indian national for the illegal importation of illicit pharmaceuticals including opioids and other controlled substances”.
The DEA country attaché for India, Mark Fredrick stated, “US law enforcement and regulatory agencies already enjoy a strong working relationship with Indian counterparts under the bilateral Counternarcotics Working Group and now have expanded that cooperation to work closely under Operation Broader Sword”.
Fredrick further added, “Initiatives like Operation Broader Sword protect people in both the US and India, helping India identify traffickers who either operate or seek to expand into India, and also helping India law enforcement strengthen protections against flows of illicit drugs that may harm Indian citizens”.
According to the press release, Operation Broader Sword, built upon the success of Operation Broadsword, which also targeted mail parcels which comprised illicit medical products from India, was carried out in 2020 at Chicago IMF.
The US Embassy in India stated in their press release that bilateral, multi-agency initiatives like Operation Broader Sword help to prevent illegal and potentially harmful products from reaching US consumers while also providing information on shipping patterns and parties of interest that call for additional enforcement measures.
In order to better protect the residents of both countries, Indian and US law enforcement officials collaborate frequently to obtain an understanding of global criminal networks. Recently on June 18, Delhi police officials confirmed the successful joint operation conducted by the Delhi Police Special Cell, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Interpol. Together, they brought down a call centre gang operating in India, which defrauded US citizens of $20 million. The gang posed as senior officials from the DEA.
In this international operation, six individuals have been arrested. Four of them were detained in India, including one from Uganda and one from Canada.
The arrested individuals in India are identified as Vatsal Mehta, Parth Armarkar, Deepak Arora, and Prashant Kumar. Mehta is believed to be the mastermind behind the scheme, while Armarkar supervised call centres in India and Uganda. The gang used the persona of Uttam Dhillon, a senior DEA officer, to approach potential victims.
According to HCS Dhaliwal, Special Commissioner of Police at the Delhi Police Special Cell, this coordinated action dispels the misconception that those responsible for transnational crimes can evade justice. He stated, “We received input from the FBI that an individual named Parther Marker defrauded several US citizens of more than 20 million dollars by posing as a senior Drug Enforcement Agency official. He was mainly operating from Uganda and Ahmedabad and other parts of India. He was arrested along with his criminal syndicate mastermind Vatsal Mehta and two of his associates.”
