A Colorado man has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for his role in an international conspiracy to traffic pharmaceutical drugs into the United States and distribute those drugs across the country.
RICHMOND, Va. – Between October 2016 and November 2019, Shaun Michael Kohut, 36, received bulk shipments of pills sent into the United States from abroad by foreign-based actors.
According to court documents, Kohut would then mail smaller shipments of pills to buyers across the United States and receive payments for his services by accepting money remittances from customers via Western Union and other payment-processing systems.
Kohut is estimated to have been involved in the trafficking or attempted trafficking of close to 400,000 pills between October 2016 and November 2019, including substantial quantities of the Schedule IV opioid tramadol.
Kohut came to the attention of federal law enforcement when a buyer in the Eastern District of Virginia was instructed to remit payment to Kohut for the unlawful purchase of alprazolam, also known as Xanax.
G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced the sentence after a federal court hearing.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin Elliker and Heather H. Mansfield.
A copy of the indictment and other court documents can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
Kohut’s estimated involvement in the trafficking of pills has sparked concerns about the scope of international drug trafficking operations in the United States.
The case serves as a reminder of the ongoing threat posed by international drug trafficking organizations to public health and safety in the United States.
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Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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