Framingham

Framingham apartment set up like pharmacy leads to 4 arrests, authorities say

The U.S. Attorney's Office in Massachusetts says 40-year-old Douglas Reis de Souza posed as a legitimate pharmacist, but had no license

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Police say illegal drugs from Brazil were being sold from an apartment set up like a pharmacy.

Federal investigators say an apartment in Framingham, Massachusetts, was set up like a pharmacy, including an examination room and large quantities of prescription drugs.

The office of Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Leah Foley says 40-year-old Douglas Reis de Souza pretended to be a legitimate pharmacist, but had no license.

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He and three employees — all allegedly undocumented immigrants from Brazil — are accused of illegally importing prescription drugs from that country and selling them on the black market, mostly to the Portuguese-speaking community in the area.

Authorities arrested de Souza, 33-year-old Dekny Marcos de Carvaleho Reis, 34-year-old Dekmara de Carvalho Reis 41-year-old Wandiscleia Ferreira de Souza Guimaraes.

"I am disgusted," said Brianna Davis, who lives at the apartment complex. "It's quite a ruse, but I also feel like people should try to use more common sense. An actual proper pharmacist is not going to distribute medications from a home."

According to court documents, de Souza was selling everything from pain medications like Codeine to anti-anxiety Clonazepam pills to testosterone and morphine out of his apartment.

Prosecutors say the pharmacy operated for years and made hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits.

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