Barry Wright, 57, of Marietta pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute controlled substances, admitting he spent six months mailing hundreds of packages of pills on behalf of an organized trafficking ring. Investigators say Wright worked as a re-shipper between July 2024 and January 2025, pocketing a small fee for every parcel he sent to buyers around the country.
According to WSB-TV, the enterprise took orders online and shipped bulk quantities of drugs through international mail to a U.S.-based bulk re-shipper, who then funneled individual packages out to smaller re-shippers like Wright. Those smaller players were paid for each parcel they mailed to customers, and records show Wright received $48.50 per package. The ring is reported to have operated through the websites MEDDZONLINE.com and PharmacyStoresOnline.com.
Pills Shipped Across State Lines
The operation distributed several controlled substances to buyers across the United States, including tapentadol, amphetamine/dextroamphetamine and zolpidem, the sleep medication sold under brand names like Ambien. The outlet's report notes the organization operated both domestically and internationally, relying on a pipeline that moved bulk shipments overseas before breaking them into smaller individual orders mailed from within the U.S.
Federal agents built their case in part through a controlled buy: on November 20, 2024, the DEA in Buffalo purchased 60 zolpidem pills for $475 from a site identified as MEDSHEALTHONLINE.com, per the same WSB-TV account. Days later, on November 27, 2024, agents obtained a U.S. Postal Service parcel containing blister packs of zolpidem that Wright himself had mailed, tying him directly to the shipment.
Spreadsheet Detailed Hundreds of Mailings
Investigators also seized a spreadsheet detailing the packages Wright mailed to customers nationwide. That record, the station reports, showed he mailed 333 parcels in total. Prosecutors said the same records indicated Wright had been taking drugs from his own inventory for personal use rather than shipping every pill out to buyers.
A related case out of western New York shows how the broader trafficking network has played out in federal court. The investigation traces back to February 2024, when the DEA began looking into a non-fatal overdose in the Silver Creek area involving a victim who had purchased drugs five separate times from MEDDZONLINE.COM, according to The Post-Journal. That outlet described the same distribution pattern alleged in Wright's case: online orders, bulk international shipments to a U.S. re-shipper, and domestic mailing of individual orders to buyers.
Another Re-Shipper Got Time Served
One other alleged re-shipper tied to the operation has already been sentenced. Leeladhar Tandel, 45, described as a smaller re-shipper in the same online drug operation, received a sentence of time served after spending about 14 months in custody, according to FingerLakes1.com. That case involved a conspiracy running from July 2024 through March 2025 tied to tapentadol, alprazolam, clonazepam, carisoprodol and zolpidem. Investigators recovered 40 packages originating in Summerdale, Alabama in May 2025 that prosecutors said Tandel had mailed.
Potential Penalties Ahead
The conspiracy charge Wright pleaded guilty to carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York. Wright is scheduled to be sentenced on March 18, 2027, leaving months before a judge determines what consequences he will actually face.
