A federal grand jury indicted a Keizer mother and daughter on charges alleging they conspired to traffic hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills from India into the U.S.
Jennifer McConnon, 48, and Sydney Sleight, 22, were indicted on charges of conspiring to distribute controlled substances and possessing with intent to distribute controlled substances.
Also indicted was an unnamed person listed as John Doe aka “Bunny Jinn,” the leader of McConnon and Sleight’s drug trafficking organization based in India.
The charges allege Bunny Jinn exported packages of real and counterfeit pills containing different controlled substances into the U.S. McConnon and Sleight received the packages in Oregon, prepared the drugs for distribution and distributed them to customers throughout the country, according to a statement Friday from the U.S. Department of Justice Division of Oregon.
The substances included tapentadol, lorazepam, alprazolam, clonazepam, diazepam, carisoprodol, ketamine and tramadol.
Bunny Jinn, McConnon and Sleight used different encrypted messaging applications and services to communicate about their operation, the justice department said.
“McConnon and Sleight, who maintained premises in Keizer to store and distribute the drugs, received more than 275 drug parcels via a post office box, and received payment for their participation in the scheme via several online payment applications,” the justice department said in the release.
McConnon was arraigned in federal court Friday, pleaded not guilty and was released pending a five-day jury trial scheduled to begin Sept. 13. Sleight’s first court appearance hasn’t been scheduled.
If convicted, they face maximum sentences of 20 years in federal prison, according to the release.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration and Salem Police Department investigated the case.
-Ardeshir Tabrizian
