Barbadian Co-founder Of Illegal Drug Company Jailed For Three Years

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia CMC – The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) agency says the Barbadian co-founder of an illegal drug company has been jailed for three years for conspiracy and sale of misbranded drugs.

On Saturday, Talib Khan, 43,who listed Montreal, Quebec as his other address, was also sentenced to two years of supervised release, and US$3.4 million in forfeiture and restitution to victims.

Khan who pleaded guilty to charges, was the co-founder of Gallant Pharma International Inc., an unlicensed wholesale drug distributor headquartered in Arlington, Virginia.

Between August 2009 and August 2013, Gallant Pharma “smuggled and sold more than US$12.4 million in non-FDA (Federal Drug Administration)-approved chemotherapy drugs and injectable cosmetic drugs and devices, generating profits of US$3.4 million.”

“Many of these drugs were subject to strict temperature controls to protect drug potency,” ICE said. “Gallant Pharma shipped and received such drugs with ice packs, not dry ice used by legitimate distributors, and on at least one occasion, a shipment containing such drugs took more than two weeks to arrive in Virginia from overseas during a July 2012 heat wave.”

ICE said many drugs sold by Gallant Pharma also were required to carry a FDA “black box” warning, which indicates that a drug carries a significant risk of serious or life-threatening adverse effects.

“The versions sold by Gallant Pharma did not meet this or other FDA labeling requirements,” it said.

Also sentenced was Gallant Pharma sales representative Harvey Whitehead, 68, of Cadillac, Michigan.

He was sentenced to two years of probation, to include six months of home confinement, following his October 3, 2013 guilty pleas to unlicensed wholesale prescription drug distribution and sale of misbranded drugs.