FedEx is facing drug-trafficking charges after a federal grand jury in San Francisco indicted the overnight shipping company Thursday for allegedly shipping prescription drugs from illegal online pharmacies to dealers and addicts, according to documents filed in federal court. The shipping giant, however, said it is innocent and will plead not guilty.
The indictment claims that FedEx was aware of illegal Internet pharmacies using their services for a decade, and had taken precautionary measures to protect its business by setting up special credit policies for them not to lose money if police shut their sites down, USA Today reported. In addition, the company is accused of ignoring nearly a decade of warnings from the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Food and Drug Administration and members of Congress. "FedEx knew that it was delivering drugs to dealers and addicts," the Justice Department said in a press release.
The prosecution was the result of a nine-year investigation into shipments from two pharmacies, the Chhabra-Smoley Organization and Superior Drugs, between 2000 and 2010.
While well-known chains managing Internet pharmacies are known to follow proper protocol, most others don't require a prescription before filling orders. Instead, they allow individuals to complete and online questionnaire without meeting with a physician, CNN Money reported. "The advent of Internet pharmacies allowed the cheap and easy distribution of massive amounts of illegal prescription drugs to every corner of the United States, while allowing perpetrators to conceal their identities through the anonymity the Internet provides," said U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag.
She added, "This indictment highlights the importance of holding corporations that knowingly enable illegal activity responsible for their role in aiding criminal behavior."
But Patrick Fitzgerald, senior vice president for marketing and communications, claimed the company to be innocent of the charges in a written statement, adding that FedEx attempted to stop illegal drug activities by cooperating with law enforcement for decades. "We have repeatedly requested that the government provide us a list of online pharmacies engaging in illegal activity," he said. "Whenever DEA provides us a list of pharmacies engaging in illegal activity, we will turn off shipping for those companies immediately. So far the government has declined to provide such a list."
Fitzgerald said it is unreasonable to expect FedEx to take responsibility for the legality of the contents of the 10 million packages it delivers each day. "We are a transportation company - we are not law enforcement," he said.
A conviction could mean up to $1.6 billion in fines and penalties, according to prosecutors. The company will appear in federal court in San Francisco on July 29.
