Prosecution describes online operation in federal drug trafficking case

In federal court Tuesday, prosecutors pulled back the curtain and laid out their case against Moran Oz and Rx Limited.

Investigators allege that Oz helped to supervise an online system where customers were able to illegally purchase pain killers and muscle relaxers like Soma, Ultram and Fioricet.

Patients never had to get a prescription or submit medical records. Instead, allegedly they visited shell websites like "myonlinedrugstore" and "yourpills.com". Many of the sites advertised the prices of the drugs and even used pictures of doctors.

But investigators alleged it was doctors, like Ellias Karkala, who were approving the orders.

Prosecutors say their cut was about $2 per order, Karkala and others approved hundreds of orders per day.

As part of the investigation, undercover DEA agents also allegedly placed orders where they cited made-up conditions like addiction, withdrawal and hemorrhoids. The orders were all approved.

But Oz's defense team disputes the government narrative, claiming he was mostly unaware of the illegal operations of Rx Limited. His attorneys say Oz was later allegedly threatened by the company’s owner and notorious criminal mastermind Paul Le Roux and he had no choice but to go along.

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Le Roux is currently in protective custody, whereabouts unknown, and is expected to testify in St. Paul sometime in March.

The entire trial is expected to last eight weeks.