Boise, Idaho - A veil of secrecy surrounding Idaho's acquisition of drugs for lethal injections has been lifted, revealing clandestine transactions that are fueling a growing controversy. Nearly a year and a half ago, an unusual delivery took place just outside the state's largest maximum-security prison near Boise. The then-prison warden reportedly met two individuals who transferred six vials of pentobarbital solution from the back seat of a vehicle into a cardboard box.

Four months later, the warden orchestrated another pickup. This time, the rendezvous occurred at a rural intersection of Pleasant Valley Road and Ten Mile Creek Road, roughly a mile from the prison. Tim Richardson, the former warden, recalled in October testimony that this second exchange was conducted in a "remote location" to keep it "out of sight." According to the transcript, his intention was "so that visually you couldn't tell what was going on."

Details of these transactions have emerged through court documents tied to the legal battles of two death row inmates, Thomas Creech and Gerald Pizzuto Jr., offering a glimpse into the lengths Idaho went to secure execution drugs while attempting to maintain confidentiality.

Halted Executions and Legal Challenges

Creech, 74, convicted of five murders, was scheduled for lethal injection in February 2024. However, the execution was abruptly halted after prison staff struggled for 42 minutes to establish a viable intravenous line. This "botched" attempt has ignited a legal fight to prevent the state from trying again.

Pizzuto Jr., 69, found guilty of four murders in two states, was slated for execution in March 2023, but a federal judge issued a stay. Pizzuto is challenging the state's use of pentobarbital, citing his poor health, including progressive bladder cancer.

Notably, in court filings reviewed by NBC News, Richardson, now the warden of a different Idaho correctional facility, testified that he was instructed by lawyers representing the state's Department of Correction not to answer questions regarding the identity of the drug supplier, whether the same individuals were involved in each transaction, or the type of vehicle used.

Shielding Suppliers and Pharmaceutical Pushback

In 2022, Idaho enacted a law shielding the identities of its execution team and lethal injection drug suppliers. Corrections officials argue that this secrecy makes it easier to obtain pentobarbital, a drug that has been scarce nationwide since 2012, leading to a de facto moratorium on executions in the state. In 2023, Idaho also legalized execution by firing squad if drugs cannot be procured.

However, major pharmaceutical companies have explicitly warned states against using their medications for executions, citing ethical and legal concerns. While drug distributors can purchase medications from companies and sell them to hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, and other legitimate customers, pharmaceutical firms have sued states, demanding the return of their manufactured drugs when they are supplied to prisons for use in executions.

"Every manufacturer of any drug that could be used in a lethal injection, including pentobarbital, has, to date, not only opposed its use but put contractual restrictions on its sale," said Corinna Barrett Lain, a professor at the University of Richmond School of Law. "They have every right to do so because they risk massive financial losses if their drugs are used in lethal injection. The potential for a botched execution due to drug misuse could lead to financial and legal damages that would be terrible for business."

The Idaho Department of Correction did not immediately respond to a request for comment on its recent pentobarbital purchases. The state attorney general's office declined to comment this week, citing pending litigation.

Compounded Drug Concerns and Hefty Price Tags

Like other states, Idaho relied on so-called compounding pharmacies for execution drugs in 2011 and 2012. However, this alternative raised concerns about the quality and safety of compounded drugs, which are not subject to Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval.

In court documents, Idaho corrections officials have asserted that the pentobarbital procured by the state in 2023 and 2024 was not compounded but manufactured by FDA-approved pharmaceutical companies. Former Warden Richardson testified in October 2023 that the drugs received in a delivery that month were "believed to be manufactured" and "looked like original manufacturer's packaging." He agreed that the second delivery he received roadside in February 2024 was the same.

In another court filing from October 2023, Randy Valley, the current warden of Idaho Maximum Security Institution, stated that the state's pentobarbital supplier was an "FDA-approved manufacturer" and that the state had newly received "six additional 2.5-gram vials of certified manufactured pentobarbital" that same month.

According to court documents, the state spent a total of $200,000 on the three pentobarbital purchases, all of which went unused and expired after Creech's failed execution.

In evidence filed in Pizzuto's case, two pharmaceutical companies that manufacture injectable pentobarbital, Hikma (U.S. headquarters in New Jersey) and Sagent (headquarters in Illinois), sent letters to Idaho authorities demanding assurances that their drugs would not be used in executions.

Hikma spokesperson Steven Weiss told NBC News on Friday that the company has sent such letters annually for the past eight years to Idaho and other states "to firmly reiterate our strong opposition to the use of our medicines in capital punishment." He added that the company was able to confirm that the drugs purchased by Idaho were "not ours" because "the invoice has information that allows us to see if we manufactured it or not."

Sagent did not respond to a request for comment on the possibility that the state purchased its drugs. In a letter sent to Idaho authorities last year, Sagent warned that it "reserves the right to pursue legal action" if it learns that Idaho has failed to comply with its demands and cautioned that "our products are at risk of being counterfeited, stolen, contaminated or otherwise diverted through illicit channels, in violation of distribution controls." The company also sent an email to the attorney general with the subject line: "URGENT: Request for Return of Pentobarbital Purchased for Execution Purposes."

In documents filed in court last month in Pizzuto's case, Josh Tewalt, who previously served as the director of the Idaho Department of Correction, would neither "admit" nor "deny" whether the department had secured execution drugs manufactured by companies that oppose their use in capital punishment, citing the state's informant privilege. Tewalt, a longtime head of the department, denied that the state would use expired chemicals in an execution. He transitioned to the private sector last month and did not respond to a request for comment.

In clinical settings, pentobarbital can be used to treat insomnia or human seizures, and veterinarians use it for animal anesthesia or euthanasia. However, in high doses for executions, the powerful sedative can cause death by respiratory failure and has become a primary option for states seeking to avoid the common three-drug protocol for over a decade. Indiana carried out its first execution in 15 years in December after purchasing pentobarbital for $900,000. The drug supplier and the amount of drugs were redacted from public records under the state's informant protection law. Tennessee has also reportedly purchased pentobarbital from a non-disclosed supplier for nearly $600,000 in recent years and is planning its first lethal injection execution next month since 2019. Utah purchased pentobarbital for its last execution in 2024. Randall Honey, the director of operations for the Utah Department of Corrections, stated in a court filing last summer that the state initially struggled to obtain the drug until an individual read news reports and contacted authorities, connecting them with a supplier who charged $200,000. The drug was "manufactured, not compounded," but the payment was made "in a proper and legal manner," Honey added.

In court documents related to Creech's case last fall, Michaela Almgren, a clinical associate professor at the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy, pointed out that Idaho's purchase of six vials of pentobarbital for $50,000 was more than three times the wholesale market price. She added that Hikma and Sagent were the only two companies that manufactured injectable pentobarbital in the size and strength Idaho had acquired at the time. "A drug vial price that is two to three times higher than expected raises questions about the legitimacy of the supplier," Almgren stated in court filings on behalf of Creech's legal team. "Suppliers who overcharge for drugs may be considered questionable or illicit, raising concerns about ethical practices and regulatory compliance."

Lawyers for Pizzuto argued in court documents last week that "the same profit-seeking actor appears to be traveling the country selling pentobarbital at an enormous markup to desperate corrections departments."

Lain, the author of an upcoming book, "Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection," said, "At a minimum, someone is profiting at the expense of manufacturers who object to their drugs being used in executions." She added, "The state's argument is, 'Oh, we need secrecy to protect the drug supplier,' but the state is using secrecy to violate the law. Who are they protecting? It's not the pharmaceutical manufacturers."

"The state has to follow the law," Lain emphasized. "They have to be different than the criminals they're executing."