2 guilty in Web drug-sales scheme

Philadelphia Inquirer, The, April, 2006 by John Shiffman

A federal jury yesterday convicted a Temple University graduate student and a Florida salesman of operating an illegal international Internet pharmacy.

Authorities say the men were part of a 17-person conspiracy that made it easy for Americans to buy drugs such as morphine, codeine, Xanax, Valium, Prozac and Viagra without a prescription. Pills ordered online were shipped from India to the Philadelphia region, then distributed to U.S. customers.

"There was no pharmacist involved, just a credit card," Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank Costello told jurors during closing arguments. "On the Internet, at first glance, it looks legitimate. You've got this guy appearing who looks like Marcus Welby. But if you take a look, where are these drugs coming from that they're selling?... A garage."

Akhil Bansal, who was studying for a master's degree in health-care administration at Temple, was convicted of drug conspiracy, money laundering, and ...