A Texas couple has been sentenced for operating an online business that relied on a cross-border supply chain to smuggle millions of dollars worth of unapproved veterinary drugs and pesticides from Mexico and distribute them to customers across the U.S.
Department of Justice, Duong and Lam Mai, a married couple from Garland, Texas, were sentenced on September 8 in federal court on crimes related to the operation.
Duong served three months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, and was ordered to forfeit more than $1.5 million. Mai was sentenced to two years’ probation.
According to court filings and evidence presented by prosecutors, the operation moved the products from Mexico to customers across the country through a combination of cross-border smuggling, storage facilities near the US-Mexico border, domestic shipping, and online sales.
Duong began selling animal-care goods through various online platforms in 2011, especially to consumers involved in rooster fighting ventures, according to the DOJ. She was not a veterinarian and did not ask consumers to provide veterinary prescriptions when obtaining veterinary medications.
Among the medications marketed were Cipio Vet, Baytril Max and Caterrol, which were made in Mexico but were not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the U.S. Duong increased the business in 2017 by adding Taktic and Bovitraz insecticides. Neither product was registered with the Environmental Protection Agency for sale or use in the U.S., meaning they could not lawfully be marketed domestically.
Smuggled through Calexico, shipped to Texas
In 2018, Duong launched a website that became the primary sales and distribution mechanism for the organization.
Prosecutors claimed she then entered into deals with other co-conspirators to buy veterinary medications and pesticides that she knew had been trafficked into the U.S. from Mexico.
The item entered the border through the Calexico port of entry in California, according to the DOJ. After entering the U.S., the pesticides and veterinary medications were placed in storage units near the border.
Duong’s co-conspirators later sent the item from California to Texas, forming another leg in the criminal supply chain. From 2018 to 2022, Duong collected about $2.4 million worth of illicit products from the co-conspirators, authorities claimed.
Mai served as shipment manager for the website.
Once clients placed orders, Mai packaged the pesticides and veterinary pharmaceuticals and distributed them to buyers around the country using the U.S. Postal Service and other shipping businesses, according to prosecutors.
The case was investigated by the EPA and FDA, with support from Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
According to federal authorities, the pesticides could endanger the environment and public health. Taktic and Bovitraz contain amitraz, which the EPA says is hazardous to bees and can potentially harm humans if it contaminates honey, honeycomb, or beeswax.
Improper usage of amitraz products in beehives can result in human exposure related with neurological and potentially reproductive consequences. Animals have shown symptoms of neurotoxicity such as central nervous system depression, reduced heart rate, and hypothermia.
“No one should profit from bringing illegal chemicals into the United States and poisoning American communities,” Jeffrey A. Hall, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, said in a statement.
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