Kansas City man is accused of acquiring and distributing prescription drugs from overseas

Platte County authorities have accused a 29-year-old man of acquiring more than 35,000 prescription pills from India and Thailand and trying to distribute them throughout the United States.

Brian S. Hoskins of Kansas City was charged Monday with one count of possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute, two counts of possession of a controlled substance and acting as a wholesale drug distributor without a license.

Hoskins is being held with bond set at $100,000. If convicted of all counts, he faces up to 36 years in prison, said Platte County Prosecutor Eric Zahnd.

According to court records, investigators with the U.S. Border Patrol seized a package at John F. Kennedy International Airport in June that contained a large amount of controlled substances. The package was being shipped from India to Hoskins at a downtown Kansas City post office.

Several weeks later, Kansas City police watched Hoskins pick up six parcels at the post office and place them in his backpack. After being approached, Hoskins allowed an officer to search the backpack, which contain about 8,400 prescription pills from India.

Hoskins previously spent six years in Bangkok, where he developed contacts to obtain prescription pills, authorities allege. He allegedly repackaged the pills in Platte County, Zahnd said.

Investigators found 20,000 pills in Hoskins’ bedroom, authorities said.

This story was originally published March 3, 2015 at 1:19 PM with the headline "Kansas City man is accused of acquiring and distributing prescription drugs from overseas."