As part of efforts to combat the fentanyl crisis nationwide and fight drug traffickers in practical ways, The United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) issued a statement to e-commerce companies regarding the sale of pill presses..
In said advertisement It is stipulated that all companies that are dedicated to the distribution, import and export of pill pressing machines and have electronic commerce platforms must comply with recordkeeping, identification, and reporting requirements under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA).
Among the data required by the CSA for these machinery distribution entities are: collecting detailed information about the buyer and seller, as well as notifying the DEA of any sale, import, export or transfer, This is according to a guide described on the anti-drug agency’s website.
Scott Oulton, deputy assistant administrator of the DEA, pointed out that these machines are capable of pumping thousands of illegal pills per hour and in this context, Hundreds of those printing presses were seized by federal law enforcement in 2023.
According to information from authorities, DEA agents confiscated several presses, along with 200,000 suspected fentanyl pills, in a duplex converted into a drug laboratory in New York City.
“We confiscate them all over the United States, whether it’s a basement, a warehouse, a house, a garage, a hotel room,” Oulton said.
In addition to pill presses, drug dealers also they buy fake punch kits and dyeswith a cost of around 40 dollars, the same ones used to mark pills, which allows them to imitate real pills.
“What they do is buy specific dyes and punch kits that have brands that imitate pharmaceutical preparations,” said the deputy administrator.
On the other hand, Anne Milgram, administrator of the DEA, pointed out in interview for CBS News that In the last six months they have managed to confiscate many of these presses in various states of the country.
“In the last six months, we have confiscated pill presses in New York, Massachusetts, Mississippi and Kentucky, it is an industrial machine,” Milgram stated.
According to Milgram, the DEA is taking very strong measures, since many of the machines are purchased online, for this reason they have ordered more than 450 e-commerce sites that identify and report pill press purchases as required by federal law.
“We have drug dealers all over the United States who are buying pill presses,” Milgram said. “They have fentanyl and they are using it to turn it into fake pills.”
In 2019, the DEA launched the Industry Liaison Project, engaging several e-commerce companies, websites, and domain registrars about the sale of pill presses online and related regulatory requirements.
In response to this campaign, several companies, including Amazon and Etsy, completely banned the sale of pill presses and stamps and removed these products from their websites.
“Drug traffickers are killing Americans by selling fentanyl hidden in fake pills that look like real prescription drugs. This is possible because drug dealers can buy the tools they need online, such as pill presses and stamps.”
“Electronic commerce platforms They cannot turn a blind eye to the fentanyl crisis and the sale of pill presses on their platforms. “They must do their part to protect the public and when they fail to do so, the DEA will hold them accountable.”Milgram noted.
The current crisis due to the consumption of this drug is alarmingso the DEA, in order to raise awareness among the population and in tribute to all those who have died from the consumption of these substances, implemented the wall “Faces of fentanyl”.
The wall shows that anyone can fall into the temptation of this drug, one victim was only 4 years old, James Cox, while the oldest person on the wall was 70 years old.
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