by On Wednesday, a couple from Thermal, a hamlet in the Coachella Valley, were convicted in San Diego for trafficking illegal chemicals across the U.S.-Mexico border and selling them in California and other states.
In 2023, Otilio Rodriguez Toledo and his spouse, Alicia Aispuro Hernandez, entered a guilty plea to conspiracy to distribute and carry unregistered veterinary medications and chemicals.
Judge John Houston sentenced Toledo to five months in federal prison and three years of supervised release, or probation, at a sentencing hearing held Wednesday at U.S. District Court in San Diego. Hernandez was sentenced to 18 months of supervised release, but she was spared jail time as she awaited the outcome of the lawsuit.
Additionally, both offenders were ordered to pay $2.19 million in fines to the government, which will be recovered through asset forfeiture.
Customs rules are in place for a reason, especially in light of the fact that chemicals and pesticides are trying to enter our nation with the potential to cause severe illness and environmental damage, according to Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Shawn Gibson.
The cooperation of several law enforcement agencies working together to prevent the entry of unusual illegal substances into our country is directly responsible for the success of this investigation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office claims that the pair kept storage facilities close to the Calexico Port of Entry in Imperial County while they lived in Riverside County.
The defendants organized the illegal entry of large quantities of illegal narcotics into the United States through Mexico by working with unidentified smugglers. In order to confirm that the things had been dropped at the storage lockers, the smugglers would transmit the defendants mobile phone images of the items, according to the prosecution. After that, Toledo and Hernandez would visit the units and collect the illegal items.
According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office statement, the main pesticides involved were Taktic and Bovitraz, neither of which is registered with the EPA for use in the United States. Tetragent Aves, Metabolase, Terramicina, Cipio Vet, Baytril Max, Tylovet, Caterrol, Penicilina, and Tylosma were among the illegally obtained veterinary medications. The Food and Drug Administration has not authorized their usage in the United States.
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According to the agency, amitraz, which is present in Taktic and Bovitraz, is poisonous to bees if they are let out into hives and to people when it finds its way into honey, honeycomb, and beeswax.
According to the statement, misuse of amitraz-containing products in beehives can expose humans to chemicals that may have neurological and possibly reproductive effects when they consume tainted honey.
After the smuggling enterprise was discovered in 2022, the two, about whom little background information was available, were indicted by a federal grand jury.
The inquiry was conducted by HSI and FDA and EPA staff.
This article was provided to by City News Service.
