Fake Xanax gang produced pills in sheds and made millions – BBC News

A drug gang produced millions of counterfeit Xanax pills in garden sheds and garages and sold them to customers in the UK and US.

The group, from across the West Midlands region of England, was made up of relatives and friends who sold more than £4 million worth of fake pills on the so-called dark web.

They were brought to justice after a five-year international investigation, which saw two members convicted earlier on Wednesday.

Eight members of the group, including suspected ringleaders Brian Pitts, 29, and Katie Harlow, 26, had previously admitted a series of charges.

Brian Pitts, of Lane Street, Bilston, organized the marketing and online sales from a luxury villa in Thailand, supported by his partner Harlow, the West Midlands Regional Organized Crime Unit (ROCU) believes.

Earlier at Wolverhampton Crown Court, 25-year-old Jordan Pitts was convicted of all charges he faced. Tenth gang member Bladen Roper, 24, was found guilty of one and acquitted of the other.

ROCU said the group had made an “eye-watering” amount of money from online sales in 2018 and 2019.

The proceeds were laundered through cryptocurrency, mainly Bitcoin, the court was told.

In 2019, a fake Xanax factory was discovered in Windsor Road in Tipton and a second production facility in a garage in Jeremy Road, Wolverhampton.

Forensic evidence found at the scene suggested heavy production of Alprazolam, a drug within Xanax, possibly at a rate of 10,000 pills per hour.

Months earlier, Xanax manufacturer Pfizer had begun its own investigation into counterfeit sales by conducting test purchases.

It was able to show that packages had been distributed through post offices in the Black Country.

ROCU conducted coordinated raids and made several arrests.

“This was all done simply to make a profit,” said Det Insp Dave Hollies of ROCU.

“They thought, ‘How can we tangibly turn the amount of money we spend purchasing Alprazolam, fillers and presses into the greatest amount of money?’

“And that amount was eye-watering.”

Police say Brian Pitts rapidly grew the illegal trade and may have been in contact with other international drug supply chains.

Roper, of Powis Avenue, and Jordan Pitts, of Hickman Avenue, had undergone a three-week trial.

Prosecutors said they packed packages and shipped them overseas, with Roper acting as courier.

Roper told the court he had weighed and sifted ‘raw’ alprazolam, but at the time thought it was a protein powder.

The others who admitted charges relating to the supply of Class C drugs, money laundering and infringement of Pfizer’s Xanax and Greenstone trademarks are:

No sentencing date has yet been set.

Xanax is a powerful sedative used to treat anxiety and panic attacks. It is not available on the NHS but can be obtained in Britain by private prescription.

Jenny Josephs, for the prosecution, said the group had worked together to make and supply fake versions, using chemical powder and pressing them into tablets using drug presses bought legally from an Oxfordshire company.

The BBC has identified a number of websites legally selling drug presses and fillers for several thousand pounds.

Jurors heard the gang could pay for machines in cash and go to a business in Bicester to collect them.

“It’s probably a bit of willful blindness,” Hollies said.

“I don’t think there’s anything particularly nefarious in that, but I do think there are certainly more questions that need to be asked by those involved in the distribution and production of presses and fillers.”

Alprazolam is a drug from the benzodiazepine drug family, often prescribed to treat anxiety and insomnia.

Abuse can cause excessive sedation, collapse and overdose.

Since 2022, police forces in England and Wales have seen a 120% increase in seizures of counterfeit ‘street benzos’.

Alistair Bryant, a content creator from Stourbridge who has used counterfeit Xanax in the past, is calling for more controls to reduce the impact of black market sales.

“Maybe doctors should take back some of the prescribing of this [Xanax] to reduce the importance of illegal trade in this situation,” he said.

“Young people can afford these counterfeit drugs because they are the cheapest they have ever been… and unfortunately, the highest risk they have ever faced.”

Illegal alprazolam may contain other unknown and potentially harmful sedative drugs and has been linked to a number of deaths in Britain and the US when mixed with other powerful drugs.

The UK Health Security Agency said there is evidence that ‘use is a growing problem, particularly among young people and young adults’.

Cranstoun, a harm reduction charity in the Black Country, has produced guidance for people using Xanax and other benzodiazepines on how to do so safely.

“The counterfeit drugs are typically much more powerful and stronger than the drugs they pretend to be,” said Chris Rentoul, head of harm reduction.

He said another drug, a strong synthetic opioid called nitasenes, had also caused fatal overdoses in Britain last summer, including in the Birmingham area.