Feds seize “staggering” amount of meth in fake Adderall pills laced with it

Providence, R.I. — The seizure of greater than 660,000 counterfeit Adderall pills containing methamphetamine has led to expenses in opposition to one man, federal authorities in Rhode Island introduced Monday.

Dylan Rodas, 27, has agreed to plead responsible to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in connection with the seizure earlier this yr of the fake pills with a road worth estimated at about $4.6 million, U.S. legal professional for Rhode Island Zachary Cunha stated at a news convention.

It’s believed to be the biggest seizure of methamphetamine-laced fake Adderall pills in the U.S., in addition to among the many largest seizures of methamphetamine in DEA New England Field Division historical past, he stated.

“The quantity of methamphetamine represented by this seizure – methamphetamine that was packaged, prepped and ready to flow out onto the street to devastating effect on our communities – is staggering,” Cunha stated.

“Illegal drug distribution ravages the very foundations of our families and communities so every time we take methamphetamine off the streets, lives are saved,” he added.  

Adderall is a prescription remedy used primarily to deal with consideration deficit hyperactivity dysfunction.

The medication have been seized throughout two court-authorized searches in Cumberland, Rhode Island in March, he stated.

Authorities additionally discovered a bucket containing 40 kilos of meth combination prepped and able to be pressed into capsule kind, two capsule presses that may manufacture about 5,000 pills per hour every, $15,000 money and a number of handguns, together with two ghost weapons and two that had the serial numbers obliterated, he stated.

The investigation is ongoing.

Officials consider the methamphetamine originated in Mexico, in keeping with Brian Boyle, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s New England workplace.

“With the potency of these fake pills, it only takes one pill to ruin your life,” he stated.

Under a plea settlement, authorities are searching for a 10-year jail sentence for Rodas.

His legal professional, John Calcagni III, stated in an e mail that he had no speedy remark.

The meth epidemic hasn’t hit New England as laborious as another elements of the nation, Cunha stated, however legislation enforcement wants to stay vigilant.

“The prosecution we announced today, which involves the seizure of what I can only term industrial-scale quantities of meth, is a stark reminder that we cannot be complacent, we cannot treat meth as a problem that happens elsewhere,” he stated.