US orders Puerto Rico drug distribution company to pay $12 million in opioid case

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department says one of Puerto Rico’s biggest distributors of pharmaceutical drugs has been ordered to pay $12 million after being accused of not reporting hundreds of suspicious orders for controlled substances. Authorities said Monday that Drogueria Betances, LLC is accused of not reporting at least 655 orders for fentanyl and at least 113 orders for oxycodone from 2016 through June 2019. The department said the orders were considered suspicious given their frequency and size, among other things. Drogueria Betances said it would strengthen its system to report the distribution of controlled substances. But the company rejected allegations of having an inefficient system to monitor suspect orders.