Two West L.A. pharmacy owners were arrested Thursday on federal drug trafficking and money laundering charges alleging they used a bogus pharmacy to divert narcotics to the black market.
The indictment claims that Global Compounding Pharmacy’s owners, Brentwood brothers Berry Kabov and Dalibor Kabov, also illegally imported large numbers of anabolic steroids from a distributor in China.
Global Compounding, also named as a defendant, bought more oxycodone than any other Los Angeles pharmacy in 2014, ordering three times more of the narcotic than the second-largest purchaser, according to Drug Enforcement Agency records. But surveillance of the West Los Angeles company showed that foot traffic at the pharmacy is light.
Investigators seized parcels containing thousands of hidden oxycodone pills that the brothers attempted to ship to customers in and around Columbus, Ohio, according to the unsealed search warrant.
Customers would deposit cash into Kabov-controlled bank accounts or ship it in bulk to the brothers, who structured more than $1.5 million in transactions to avoid federal reporting requirements, according to the indictment.
A California Board of Pharmacy inspection last year led investigators to conclude that Global Compounding “is a facade for a drug trafficking operation.”
The Kabovs each face a maximum sentence of 430 years in federal prison if convicted.