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ARGENTINA

Fentanyl: Justice is raiding Furfaro and will arrest him for the 100+ deaths

'Mr. Fentanyl' falls: Bullrich and the Judiciary's mega-operation ends with the Kirchnerist pharmacist who left more than 100 dead

The largest judicial and police blow against the pharmaceutical network linked to kirchnerismo was carried out with the arrest of Ariel Fernando García Furfaro, known as the "Lord of Fentanyl" and owner of the laboratory HLB Pharma, identified as directly responsible for the tragedy that has already resulted in over 100 deaths from contaminated fentanyl.

The operation was ordered by federal judge Ernesto Kreplak and executed in a coordinated manner by the Airport Security Police (PSA) and the National Gendarmerie. With a deployment of 10 simultaneous raids, authorities moved against the head of HLB Pharma and Laboratorios Ramallo, the exclusive manufacturer of its medications. Both laboratories are under investigation for batch 31202 of fentanyl adulterated with Klebsiella pneumoniae and Ralstonia pickettii bacteria.

Three men wearing PSA vests are being detained, with an informational text about the arrest of Ariel García Furfaro’s brothers, linked to deaths caused by contaminated fentanyl.
Ariel García Furfaro's brothers were arrested | La Derecha Diario

The arrests also reached the businessman's family and corporate core. His brothers Diego and Damián García Furfaro were arrested, as they controlled the laboratories' operations, as well as his mother, Nilda Furfaro, shareholder and vice president of HLB. The chain of arrests included the general manager of both companies, Javier Tchukran, and the technical directors Carolina Ansaldi, Víctor Boccaccio, and José Antonio Maiorano. Horacio Tallarico, president of Ramallo, and his alternate director, Rodolfo Labrusciano, were also detained.

The Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, celebrated the success of the operation and emphasized the end of impunity: "They do it, they pay. Those responsible for the lethal batch of fentanyl, behind bars. Those guilty of the deaths from contaminated fentanyl no longer walk free. The ringleader, about to be arrested. GNA and PSA carried out a flawless operation, at the request of the Judiciary. Impunity is over: now they must answer to the Judiciary, before the families and all of society", she wrote on X along with photos of some of the arrested individuals.

Bearded man pointing at the camera with an informational text about the arrest of Ariel García Furfaro by the authorities
Justice is raiding Ariel García Furfaro and arresting him for the 100+ deaths | La Derecha Diario

The investigation, which had already prosecuted Furfaro for aggravated smuggling since 2022, is now moving forward with compelling evidence provided by the Forensic Medical Corps. Judge Kreplak received the study of the first 20 medical records of deceased patients: in 12 of them, experts determined that the administration of fentanyl from HLB Pharma "constituted a significant aggravating factor" that contributed to the fatal outcome in patients with complex clinical conditions.

The medico-legal report explained the classification of causal links:

Direct causal link: when the action is the immediate cause of the harm or death.

Indirect causal link or co-causality: when several factors contribute to the occurrence of the harm.

Fortuitous causal link: when the association is accidental or without significant influence.

In this case, the experts concluded that the contaminated fentanyl had a high probability of having decisively contributed to the deaths. In addition, the presence of the adulterated drug in the patients' blood was confirmed.

The Judiciary is targeting a structure of shared responsibility within HLB Pharma and Laboratorios Ramallo, where even Furfaro's grandmother appeared as the formal president, although she never participated in management or in the manufacturing plant.

➡️ Argentina

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