West LA pharmacy owners accused of drug trafficking

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Two brothers who are accused of owning a bogus pharmacy in West Los Angeles are in custody on suspicion of using their store to distribute prescription drugs to the black market, Department of Justice officials said.

Berry Kabov, 44, and Dalibor "Dabo" Kabov, 32, were arrested Thursday morning on federal drug trafficking and money laundering charges as operators of the Global Compounding Pharmacy, located in the 1500 block of Purdue Avenue.

Federal officials said the two Brentwood men were charged in a 40-count indictment on suspicion of using their location to obtain and distribute large quantities of prescription narcotics, including OxyContin and anabolic steroids.

Investigators seized parcels containing thousands of hidden oxycodone pills that officials said the Kabov brothers attempted to ship to customers in and around Columbus, Ohio and planned to sell to others in New York for as much as $50 per pill.

The Drug Enforcement Administration found that between June 2012 and January 2014, both men purchased massive quantities of drugs, including nearly 100,000 in oxycodone pills, as well as tens of thousands of pills of hydrocodone, commonly known as Vicodin, and hydromorphone, known as Dilaudid.

DEA administrative records also showed that Global Compounding was the top purchaser of oxycodone among all pharmacies in Los Angeles in 2014, and that it ordered three times more oxycodone than the second-largest purchaser.

Investigators concluded the pharmacy was fake when they noticed a lack of over-the-counter drug products ordinarily carried by legitimate pharmacies.

Records also indicated that many of the prescriptions were for patients outside of the L.A. area.

Federal officials found that the Kabov brothers also failed to report more than $1.5 million in structured cash deposits into multiple bank accounts.

If convicted, both men could each face a statutory maximum sentence of 430 years in federal prison.