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Guilty plea in tainted counterfeit pill case

U.S. Attorney Brandon Fremin's office says Shanard Zelron Banks pleaded guilty to drug and firearms charges, including a conspiracy charge.
Credit: WWL-TV

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Federal prosecutors in Baton Rouge say a 30-year-old man has pleaded guilty and faces a possible life sentence in a counterfeit drug case.

U.S. Attorney Brandon Fremin's office says Shanard Zelron Banks pleaded guilty to drug and firearms charges, including a conspiracy charge.

Fremin's release says Banks and 20 others were charged in connection with an extensive federal, state, and local investigation.

Banks admitted that he controlled an illegal pill-pressing operation, part of the production of thousands of counterfeit controlled substance pills. The counterfeit pills were tainted with undisclosed amounts of heroin, methamphetamine and other drugs. Some were made to look like controlled pharmaceuticals.

Sentencing was set for Oct. 17.

Fremin said Banks agreed to forfeit firearms, $20,000, and a 2011 Porsche that he purchased using drug trafficking proceeds.

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