US Imposes Visa Bans On 13 Linked To Indian Firm In Fentanyl Probe

NEW YORK, NY– The United States has imposed visa restrictions on 13 individuals linked to an Indian business previously sanctioned for allegedly trafficking fentanyl and other illicit drugs, as Washington continues efforts with India and other countries to curb the global flow of synthetic narcotics.

US State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott announced the move May 12, saying the individuals were “close business associates” of KS International Traders and its owner. Pigott said the company “generated revenue through the trafficking of illicit fentanyl.

“This action underscores the United States’ and India’s enduring and shared commitment to dismantling illicit drug entities and disrupting trafficking networks that harm Americans,” Pigott said.

The State Department did not identify the 13 individuals affected by the visa restrictions. According to Pigott, the bans were imposed under a provision of the US Immigration and Nationality Act that bars individuals involved in drug trafficking from entering the United States.

The move comes amid broader US efforts to work with India and other countries to disrupt the supply chain of fentanyl precursor chemicals and synthetic drugs.

In March, presenting the 2026 Annual Threat Assessment before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Defense Intelligence Agency Director James H. Adams III told lawmakers that cooperation with India on fentanyl-related enforcement was showing “some improvement.”

In September, the US Treasury Department sanctioned KS International Traders, its owner Khizar Mohammad Iqbal Shaikh, and Sadiq Abbas Habib Sayyed. The sanctions blocked their assets and prohibited financial transactions involving the United States.

At the time, the Treasury Department alleged that the accused had “collectively supplied hundreds of thousands of counterfeit prescription pills filled with fentanyl and other illicit drugs to victims across the United States.”

The Treasury Department said that Shaikh and Sayyed worked with narcotics traffickers in the Dominican Republic and the United States to market and sell pills containing fentanyl, fentanyl analogues, and methamphetamine.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 70,231 people died from drug overdoses in the 12 months ending in November in the United States. (IANS)