US charges ten individuals in connection with sale of opioid pills worth $1.3 billion

Oct 3 (Reuters) - U.S. authorities have charged ten individuals in connection with the unlawful sale of nearly 70 million opioid pills in what the Justice Department called the largest-ever criminal enforcement action targeting distributors of opioids and commonly abused prescription drugs, with a black-market value of $1.3 billion. The charged individuals are associated with the pharmaceutical industry, including sales representatives and brokers, the U.S. Justice Department said in a statement on Thursday.