Investigation into Online Drug Vendor Illuminates Counterfeit Pill Danger

Suspect in Los Angeles was allegedly manufacturing and shipping large quantities of fake pills and other dangerous drugsThe user will think they’re taking a Percocet or Adderall that they purchased from a social media contact or a local dealer—or maybe it was handed to them by a friend.

But the pill is far more likely to be something manufactured in a location like the one agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and FBI recently uncovered in an Inglewood, California, basement.

There, giant pill presses spit out thousands of convincing counterfeit drugs. A video of the presses in action shows the drugs are being created in what is far from a quality-controlled setting. Powder flies everywhere as the pills drop into plastic five-gallon buckets. Because the pills contain powerful drugs like methamphetamine and the synthetic opioid fentanyl, it's immediately apparent why these drugs are so dangerous.