Texas Couple Sentenced for Smuggling Unapproved Veterinary Drugs and Pesticides Into the U.S.
核心洞察
Thao Duong received three months in prison, two years of supervised release, and a forfeiture of more than $1.5 million for operating a website selling smuggled veterinary drugs and pesticides.
Lam Mai was sentenced to two years of probation for serving as shipping manager, distributing products nationwide via the U.S. Postal Service and other shippers.
Between 2018 and 2022, Duong obtained approximately $2.4 million worth of smuggled merchandise, including FDA-unapproved veterinary drugs and EPA (搜索)-unregistered pesticides.
A Garland, Texas couple has been sentenced in federal court for operating a website that sold veterinary drugs and pesticides smuggled into the United States from Mexico, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Thao Duong was sentenced to three months in prison, two years of supervised release, and ordered to forfeit more than $1.5 million. Her husband, Lam Mai, was sentenced to two years of probation.
"These defendants pumped dangerous, foreign-sourced pesticides and drugs into our country recklessly putting American communities at risk," said U.S. Attorney Ryan R. Raybould for the Northern District of Texas.
Scope of the Smuggling Operation
According to court filings and evidence, Duong began using various online platforms around 2011 to sell animal care products to customers throughout the United States. The products she sold were used primarily by people engaged in rooster fighting ventures. Duong was not a veterinarian and did not require customers to provide veterinary prescriptions to purchase veterinary drugs.
She sold products such as Cipio Vet (搜索), Baytril Max (搜索), and Caterrol (搜索), which are produced in Mexico and not approved by the FDA for use in the United States. In 2017, she added the pesticides Taktic (搜索) and Bovitraz (搜索) to her inventory. Neither Taktic nor Bovitraz was registered with the EPA (搜索) for sale or use, and neither could be sold legally in the United States.
In 2018, Duong launched a website that became her primary means of selling and distributing the products. After launching the site, she entered into agreements with several co-conspirators to purchase veterinary drugs and pesticides that she knew had been smuggled into the United States from Mexico.
Distribution Network and Scale
The smuggled pesticides and veterinary drugs were brought into the United States through the Calexico Port of Entry in Imperial County, California, and placed in storage units near the border. Duong's co-conspirators then shipped the products from California to Texas. Between 2018 and 2022, Duong obtained approximately $2.4 million worth of smuggled merchandise from her co-conspirators.
Lam Mai served as the shipping manager for the website. After orders were received, he packaged the pesticides and veterinary drugs and distributed them to customers throughout the country using the U.S. Postal Service and other shippers.
Public Health and Environmental Risks
According to the EPA (搜索), the active ingredient in the pesticides Taktic (搜索) and Bovitraz (搜索) is amitraz, which is toxic to bees if released into hives, and then ultimately to humans when it ends up in honey, honeycomb, and beeswax. Misuse of amitraz-containing products in beehives can result in exposures that could cause neurological effects and possibly reproductive effects in humans from the consumption of contaminated honey.
Signs of neurotoxicity from exposure to amitraz have been documented in multiple animal species and include central nervous system depression, decrease in pulse rate, and hypothermia.
"The defendants in this case traded human safety and environmental health for illicit profit," said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Adam Gustafson of the Justice Department's Energy and Natural Resources Division (ENRD).
"No one should profit from bringing illegal chemicals into the United States and poisoning American communities," said Assistant Administrator Jeffrey A. Hall for EPA (搜索)'s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance. "Illegal Mexican pesticides and animal steroids are a dangerous combination."
Regulatory Response
"The FDA is charged with ensuring that veterinary drugs meet rigorous safety standards. When individuals smuggle and distribute misbranded and unapproved veterinary drugs, they jeopardize the health of animals," said Special Agent in Charge Jonathan Lamb of the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations, Kansas City Field Office.
The EPA (搜索) and FDA investigated the case, with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Trial Attorney Lauren D. Steele of ENRD's Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vincent J. Mazzurco and Madeleine Case for the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.