DEA Issues Warning After Counterfeit Adderall Made with Methamphetamine Seized

Source: DEA

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is warning the public after the seizure of counterfeit pills designed to look like Adderall, a medication used to treat Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. According to the DEA, agents in Louisville, working closely with the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations (FDA-OCI), seized pills that were destined for Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia, and had been pressed to exactly mimic genuine Adderall pills. Subsequent testing found that the pills were actually fake and made with methamphetamine.

DEA Special Agent Mike Dubet told News4Jax of Jacksonville, FL that methamphetamine typically comes into the United States in bulk from Mexico, “However, as far as putting them into the counterfeit pills, this is happening right here in the United States." Florida has its own problems with pill counterfeiting. News4Jax mentioned two different operations, one in South Florida and the other in Tampa Bay, were creating fake pills using pill presses. “On one of the occasions, we seized three industrial-sized pill presses," Dubet said. According to News4Jax, the DEA has shut down at least 6 different counterfeit Adderall operations nationwide in the last year and a half.

FDA-OCI Director Catherine A. Hermsen commented on the seizure: “When criminals introduce counterfeit drugs into U.S. commerce, they jeopardize the public health. The FDA, together with our federal counterparts, will aggressively pursue those who place consumers at risk and seek to profit from the distribution of counterfeit drugs.”