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A4 U.S. NEWS
Tuesday 24 sepTember 2024
Feds bust Connecticut dealers accused of selling counterfeit pills

throughout the U.S.

By DAVE COLLINS protonitazene, a synthetic ation of synthetic opioids in
Associated Press opioid that is three time America,” Connecticut U.S.
In a nondescript garage in more powerful than fen- Attorney Vanessa Roberts
Connecticut, a New Ha- tanyl, federal officials said. Avery said in a statement.
ven man manufactured The tablets also contained Fake prescription pills con-
hundreds of thousands of dimethylpentylone a de- taining fentanyl and other
counterfeit pills contain- signer party drug known to powerful opioids are con-
ing methamphetamine, a be mislabeled as ecstasy tributing to high numbers
powerful opioid and other and xylazine, a tranquilizer of overdoses across the
illicit drugs that he shipped often called “tranq.” country, said Stephen Bel-
around the U.S. and gave Hinton and four others were leau, acting special agent
to local dealers to sell on arrested on Sept. 5, the in charge of the DEA’s New
the streets, new federal same day authorities with England field division.
grand jury indictments al- search warrants raided the “DEA will aggressively pur-
lege. East Haven garage and sue drug trafficking orga-
Federal law enforce- other locations. Officials nizations and individuals
ment officials announced say they seized several hun- who distribute this poison in
the criminal indictments dred thousand pills, two pill order to profit and destroy
against the man and six presses and pill manufac- people’s lives,” he said in a
other people on Monday, turing equipment. One of statement.
calling the case one of the the pill presses can churn Authorities said they were
largest counterfeit pill busts out 100,000 pills an hour, tipped off about Hinton by
ever in New England. authorities said. an unnamed source in June
Kelldon Hinton, 45, is ac- A federal public defender 2023. Law enforcement of-
cused of running the oper- for Hinton did not immedi- ficials said they later began
ation from a rented garage ately return an email seek- searching and seizing par-
he called his “lab” in East ing comment Monday. cels sent to and from Hin-
Haven, about 5 miles (8 ki- Federal, state and local ton and set up surveillance
lometers) from downtown authorities were involved in that showed him dropping
New Haven, using drugs the investigation, including off parcels at a post of-
and pill presses he bought In this photo released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Connecticut, the Connecticut U.S. Attor- fice. Investigators also said
from sellers in China and seized counterfeit pills are displayed Sept. 5, 2024, in East Have, ney’s Office, the Drug En- they ordered bogus pills
other countries, federal au- Ct. Associated Press forcement Administration, from Hinton’s operation on
thorities said. the FBI, the U.S. Postal In- the dark web. Hinton has
Officials said Hinton ruary 2024. He also gave were indicted are also from spection Service and state a criminal record dating
shipped more than 1,300 pills to associates in Con- Connecticut. and local police. to 1997 that includes con-
packages through the U.S. necticut who sold them to Hinton sold counterfeit oxy- “This investigation reveals victions for assault, larceny
mail to people who bought their customers, the indict- codone, Xanax and Ad- the constant challenges and drug sales, federal
the pills on the dark web ments allege. derall pills that contained that we in law enforcement authorities said in a search
from February 2023 to Feb- The six other people who methamphetamine and face in battling the prolifer- warrant application.q

University of California accused of labor violations over handling

of campus protests

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — ing campaign to suppress California Faculty Associa- stance Penley, described and were surveilled and in-
Faculty have accused the pro-Palestinian speech and tions made the allegations the university’s actions as timidated by university rep-
University of California sys- campus protests across the in a complaint filed last a “relentless campaign to resentatives, the state filing
tem of labor violations over state earlier this year. week with the state Pub- chill faculty’s exercise of alleges.
what they say was a sweep- The Council of University of lic Employment Relations their academic freedom The Times said that months
Board. Faculty associations and to deter them from after police cleared pro-
at seven UC campuses teaching about the war in Palestinian encampments
co-signed the unfair labor a way that does not align at universities, the fallout
practice charge, including with the university’s posi- has continued at campus-
Los Angeles, Irvine, San Di- tion,” according to the es statewide, with university
ego, Santa Cruz, Berkeley, Times. officials implementing new
Davis and San Francisco, Protest camps sprang up protest rules and student
the Los Angeles Times re- across the U.S. in the spring, protesters grappling with
ported Monday. including at UC campuses, ongoing suspensions and
The council said UC ad- as students demanded holds on their records.
ministrators have threat- that their universities cease The university system de-
ened faculty for teaching doing business with Israel or fended its actions. UC
about the history of the companies they said sup- spokesperson Heather Han-
Israeli-Palestinian conflict ported the war in Gaza. sen pointed to a university
and launched disciplinary California faculty have also statement previously filed
proceedings for those sup- been investigated for pro- with the state labor board
Demonstrators gather on the UCLA campus in reaction to the porting on-campus student Palestinian social media in response to an earlier fil-
Israel-Hamas war, June 12, 2024, in Los Angeles. encampments. posts, arrested for exercis- ing by the UCLA Faculty
Associated Press The group’s president, Con- ing their free speech rights Association.q