A major opioid drug distributor and its company executives have been criminally charged over their alleged roles in fueling the US opioid epidemic.

The US government filed the the charges against Rochester Drug Co-operative (RDC) Inc, one of the country’s largest drug distributors on Tuesday, saying it had put profits ahead of patient safety.

RDC agreed to pay a $20 million fine and enter a five-year deferred prosecution agreement to resolve charges that it turned a blind eye to thousands of suspicious orders for opioids.

“We made mistakes,” RDC spokesman Jeff Eller said in a statement.