U.S. Court Jails Indian Brothers for Smuggling Fake Cancer Drugs and Endangering Lives

Los Angeles/ July 11, 2025
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh

2 Indian Nationals, Avanish Kumar Jha (39) and Rajnish Kumar Jha (36), were sentenced to 30 months in a U.S. federal prison for trafficking counterfeit and contaminated drugs into the United States. The sentencing took place in U.S. District Court in Seattle, where Judge Ricardo S. Martinez highlighted the severe health risks involved in the case.

The men were arrested in Singapore in April 2023 and later extradited to the U.S. in early 2025. They pleaded guilty in June to smuggling adulterated pharmaceuticals under the name of a legitimate cancer medication.

“This crime is about profit at the expense of human lives,” said Judge Martinez. “Adulterated drugs pose real danger to those who believe they are receiving effective medical treatment.”

According to Acting U.S. Attorney Teal Luthy Miller, the investigation revealed that the brothers had marketed and sold counterfeit drugs—including a fake version of Keytruda, a medicine used to treat advanced cancers. One of the first test shipments sent to undercover agents turned out to be over-the-counter heartburn pills misbranded as the cancer drug. Testing confirmed the absence of the active cancer-fighting ingredient, rendering the product ineffective and hazardous.

“The defendants exploited desperate cancer patients for financial gain,” said Miller. “They earned hundreds of thousands of dollars by offering false hope and potentially harming those in need of real medical help.”

The case against the Jha brothers began in 2019, when authorities discovered their company, Dhrishti Pharma International, advertising prescription drugs online. FDA and HSI agents posed as buyers, purchasing drugs that were shipped from India in packaging designed to evade inspection.

Payments were collected through various channels, including electronic transfers and cash deliveries handled by intermediaries in the U.S.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Philip Kopczynski described the crime as especially cruel. “These were counterfeit drugs being sold to people fighting for their lives. This conduct directly violated key public health laws designed to protect the sick and vulnerable.”

Both brothers were fined $50,000 each. In August, the court will consider an additional restitution payment of $81,596 to Merck, the maker of Keytruda, for costs related to analyzing the fake medications.

FDA Special Agent Robert Iwanicki stated, “Patients should have full confidence in their medicine. These counterfeiters violated that trust and put lives at risk.”

ICE Homeland Security Investigations Acting Special Agent Colin Jackson added, “This operation shows how law enforcement can disrupt global networks targeting vulnerable Americans. We remain committed to stopping these dangerous schemes.”

The investigation was led by the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations and ICE Homeland Security Investigations, with critical support from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Embassy in Singapore, and Singaporean law enforcement authorities.

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