Drug trafficking case: charges against FedEx dropped

The US government has dropped its case against FedEx, in which it had accused the courier of knowingly transporting illegal drugs. FedEx faced a fine of $1.6 billion.

In March, Judge Charles Breyer dismissed the majority of charges made against the company by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) due to inconsistent paperwork. The remainder of the case hinged on whether or not FedEx “knowingly” transported illegal non-prescription drugs, and last month Judge Breyer threatened to throw the case out if prosecutors failed to present sufficient evidence.

One particular sticking point was that the DEA could not provide a list of the illegal pharmacies for which FedEx was supposedly trafficking. FedEx has stated that it only picks packages up from pharmacies licensed by the state and registered with the DEA—which, ironically, technically makes the DEA accountable if these pharmacies have not been sufficiently vetted.

FedEx is protected under the Controlled Substances Act if its services are used to deliver illegal drugs without its knowledge, as are all “common or contract carriers” that conduct business lawfully.

On Friday June 17th, US Attorney John Hemman, who had inherited the case from another attorney, Melinda Haag, agreed to drop the remaining charges. The case was dismissed.

(Source: Wall Street Journal)