Burlington, Vermont – The United States Attorney's Office for the District of Vermont announced that Nitin Mishra, a 33-year-old from Jaipur, India, was sentenced on February 3, 2025. Mishra faced charges related to conspiracy and distribution of controlled substances as part of an international drug trafficking operation. After being extradited from Albania to the United States, he appeared before United States District Judge William K. Sessions III who sentenced him to time served and ordered a forfeiture payment of $7,300.
Court records indicate that from early 2019 until June 2021, Mishra collaborated with two residents from Vermont and others to ship opioids and misbranded drugs into the United States. These shipments included tens of thousands of pills containing Tapentadol (a Schedule II controlled substance) along with Tramadol, Carisoprodol, and Zolpidem (Schedule IV controlled substances). Once in the U.S., these drugs were redistributed across the country.
Acting United States Attorney Michael P. Drescher praised the investigation efforts conducted by multiple agencies including the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the United States Postal Inspection Service, and the Rutland City Police Department.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Andrew C. Gilman while Robert L. Sussman represented Mishra.