Illinois man pleads not guilty to conspiring to smuggle illegal cancer drugs into US

An Illinois man has pleaded not guilty to conspiring with an online Canadian pharmacy to smuggle prescription drugs into the U.S. to sell to doctors.

Ram Kamath appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah Lynch on Tuesday for arraignment in Missoula, Missoula. So far, he is the only one of the 14 individuals and companies named as defendants to appear to face the criminal charges.

Federal prosecutors accuse Canadadrugs.com, its CEO Kristjan Thorkelson and its affiliated companies and associates of selling $78 million in prescription drugs over three years to U.S. doctors. Prosecutors say the drugs were unapproved or mislabeled and, in two cases, counterfeit.

Federal prosecutors say in court documents they will seek to extradite the other defendants from Canada, the United Kingdom and Barbados if they do not voluntarily appear.