UPS illegal drug deliveries: On Friday, UPS agreed to pay $40 million over illegal drug deliveries from online pharmacies.
UPS will have to pay $40 million to end a federal criminal investigation that linked the company to illegal drug shipments from online pharmacies.
The firm reportedly cooperated with the investigation and will not face charges, the Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement on Friday. It will also have to enter into a compliance program to ensure that illicit online pharmacies cannot use UPS’s services.
“We are pleased with the steps UPS has taken to stop the use of its shipping services by illegal on-line pharmacies. Good corporate citizens like UPS play an important role in halting the flow of illegal drugs that degrade our nation’s communities,” U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag said in a release.
The Department of Justice said the fine is the around the same amount that UPS collected from the illicit pharmacies. FedEX also has been subjected to a similar investigation.
Illicit online pharmacies generally distribute controlled substances or prescription drugs that do not have valid prescriptions, including the painkillers oxycodone and hydrocodone.
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“DEA is aggressively targeting the diversion of controlled substances, as well as those who facilitate their unlawful distribution,” said DEA Administrator Michele M. Leonhart in the release. “This investigation is significant and DEA applauds UPS for working to strengthen and enhance its practices in order to prevent future drug diversion.”
CBS News reported that Google also paid $500 million to settle an investigation by the Department of Justice over allegations that it made money from illegal online pharmacies.
On Thursday, before the resolution, UPS said that it “believes it has an obligation and responsibility to help curb the sale and shipment of drugs sold through illegal internet pharmacies,” according to CBS.
UPS spokeswoman Susan Rosenberg told USA Today that the firm works with Internet pharmacies that comply with state and federal laws.
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