Healthcare Professionals Busted By Justice Department For Opioid Trafficking

Drug addiction is no joke. Many addicts who struggle with drug use spend years, if not the rest of their lives, trying to rise above it.

Then, there are people who are less fortunate. Some folks are never able to beat addiction; others tragically lose their lives in an overdose.

With who knows how much fentanyl coming across the US southern border on the regular, drug trafficking is more dangerous than it’s possibly ever been. Fentanyl is lethal and can easily be combined with other drugs as well.

In fact, the ties between fentanyl and drug trafficking are why many lawmakers have been rallying for the return of order along the US-Mexico barrier.

With little action from the federal government under the current administration, states have been doing all they can to get these sorts of problems handled.

A huge piece of the drug addiction puzzle just so happens to be opioid addiction. Addiction to opioids has been a problem for years. It’s even garnered the attention of US presidents and lawmakers.

That’s what makes it so disturbing to learn that a group of 12 healthcare officials has been busted for trafficking opioids, according to Fox News.

The Ins and Outs of the Opioid Trafficking Ring

Healthcare workers including nurses, dentists, and doctors were charged by the Department of Justice for illegally dispensing opioids. Overdoses, unlawful morphine prescriptions, and more happened as a result of this trafficking ring.

To make matters worse, it’s since come out that these healthcare workers preyed on folks who they perceived as most vulnerable regarding medical care. This included people with little income, in addition to older folks.

Healthcare workers involved in the opioid trafficking ring likewise took it upon themselves to use hospice benefits of unknowing patients for financial assistance.

Medicare and Medicaid coverage were also abused by healthcare workers who chose to traffick drugs.

Federal Officials on Opioid Trafficking

Federal law enforcement officials have made it clear they take these sorts of crimes very seriously.

According to the assistant attorney general of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Kenneth Polite, Jr., 75,000 individuals have lost their lives within the past year, as a result of drug overdoses.

Polite likewise noted the importance of federal law enforcement officials working together with their state-level counterparts to crack down on these sorts of crimes once and for all.

Meanwhile, Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officer Anne Milgram slammed the healthcare workers who chose to traffick opioids as greedy.

Milgram also warned that the DEA is going to continue the work of ending drug trafficking, while facilitating general safety in US communities.

What do you think about the discovery of opioid trafficking at the hands of healthcare workers? In the comments area, don’t hesitate to sound off.

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