US Seeks To Drop Fentanyl Charge Against Indian Pharma Executive

(MENAFN- Live Mint) (Bloomberg) -- US prosecutors have asked a judge to drop charges related to alleged fentanyl trafficking against an Indian pharmaceutical executive, citing insufficient evidence to move forward with the case.

Prosecutors on Thursday asked a Washington-based judge to dismiss the charges against Venkata Naga Madhusudhan Raju Manthena, marketing director at Vasudha Pharma Chem Ltd. Manthena was indicted in March along with the company and two other Vasudha executives on charges of conspiring to distribute chemicals used for the illegal manufacture of the deadly opioid.

In a court filing seeking the dismissal, prosecutors said they“learned additional information that has changed the Government's view” of the evidence against Manthena, without elaborating. A US-based lawyer for Manthena didn't immediately comment. Vasudha didn't respond to an emailed request for comment.

To date, the US fentanyl crackdown has mostly targeted Canada, Mexico and China. US President Donald Trump has imposed tariffs on all three nations and accused them of not doing enough to stop the scourge. India - already in Trump's tariff crosshairs due to its purchases of cheap oil from Russia - has become a growing target in the US's crackdown on the fentanyl trade.

A US intelligence report in March described India as the No. 2 supplier of illicit fentanyl precursor chemicals and pill pressing equipment after China.

The move to dismiss is a significant development in the US's case against Vasudha, a Hyderabad-based manufacturer of active pharmaceutical ingredients and other drug intermediaries. The March indictment made it the most prominent Indian company to become ensnared in the US's global fentanyl crackdown.

Thursday's dismissal motion doesn't mention charges against the two other Vasudha executives, who have denied wrongdoing, or against the company itself. No charges have been disclosed against the company or the executives in India.

The private company supplies chemicals to major drug-makers in India and globally and has regulatory licenses from the US Food and Drug Administration. In the fiscal year through March 2024, the company reported more than 11.5 billion rupees ($130 million) in revenues, according to a February note by India Ratings and Research.

In January, US prosecutors announced indictments of two other Indian companies on fentanyl-related charges: Athos Chemicals Pvt. and Raxuter Chemicals, both based in the western state of Gujarat. They also charged and arrested the founder of Raxuter, Indian businessman Bhavesh Lathiya. Lathiya has pleaded not guilty, while Athos hasn't entered a plea and didn't respond to requests for comment.

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