ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Four Massachusetts men have been sentenced to prison for their roles in a massive conspiracy to manufacture and distribute dangerous counterfeit pills across the United States, primarily through darknet marketplaces. The pills were found to contain potent substances including fentanyl, N-pyrrolidino etonitazene (Pyro), methamphetamine, and Bromazolam.
From at least May 2022 to June 2025, Daniel John Blaney, 28; Kenneth Emmanuel Lora, 27; David Robert Kable Jr., 27; and Javier Alexander Bermudez, 31, all from Lynn, Massachusetts, used industrial pill presses to create counterfeit Oxycodone, Adderall, and Xanax. These fake pharmaceuticals were then transported in kilogram quantities and distributed nationwide via darknet marketplaces and the U.S. Postal Service, with payments typically made in cryptocurrency.
Sentences include 18 years and 4 months for Blaney, 15 years for Lora, 12 years for Kable, and 12 years for Bermudez. The conspiracy was responsible for at least 9,000 sales of pills containing methamphetamine, fentanyl, and/or Pyro, a synthetic opioid estimated to be 20-40 times stronger than fentanyl. Over a dozen fatal overdoses were linked to the group's pills.
Lora was arrested in New York on June 4, 2025, leading to the recovery of over 39 kilograms of controlled substances. Later, a search of a storage unit maintained by Bermudez and Blaney on June 17, 2025, uncovered five industrial pill presses and 33 grams of crystal methamphetamine. Blaney attempted to evade prosecution by fleeing to Thailand with a fraudulently obtained passport but was apprehended and returned to federal custody on August 25, 2025.
This case was investigated by a multi-agency effort including the FBI Washington Field Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, DEA, and Homeland Security Investigations. It forms part of the Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) initiative and Operation Take Back America, both dedicated to combating transnational criminal organizations and protecting communities from violent crime.