Garland Couple Sentenced for Selling Veterinary Drugs and Pesticides Smuggled From Mexico
GARLAND, Texas - A Garland husband and wife have been sentenced in federal court for operating an online business that sold veterinary drugs and pesticides smuggled into the United States from Mexico, including products marketed primarily to people involved in rooster fighting.
Thao Duong was sentenced Sept. 8 to three months in federal prison followed by two years of supervised release. She was also ordered to forfeit more than $1.5 million.
Her husband, Lam Mai, was sentenced to two years of probation.
According to federal court filings, Duong began selling animal care products online around 2011 to customers throughout the United States. Many of the products were purchased by people involved in rooster fighting operations.
Duong was not a veterinarian and did not require customers to provide veterinary prescriptions when purchasing veterinary drugs, prosecutors said.
Among the products she sold were Cipio Vet, Baytril Max and Caterrol, which were manufactured in Mexico and had not been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for use in the United States.
In 2017, Duong expanded her inventory to include the pesticides Taktic and Bovitraz. Neither product was registered with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for sale or use in the United States.
Duong launched a website in 2018 that became her primary means of selling and distributing the products. Prosecutors said she subsequently reached agreements with several people to purchase veterinary drugs and pesticides she knew had been smuggled into the country.
The products entered the United States through the Calexico Port of Entry in California and were stored near the U.S.-Mexico border before being shipped to Texas, according to court records.
Between 2018 and 2022, Duong obtained approximately $2.4 million worth of smuggled merchandise from her co-conspirators.
Mai served as shipping manager for the online business. After customers placed orders, prosecutors said he packaged the veterinary drugs and pesticides and shipped them throughout the country using the U.S. Postal Service and other carriers.
Federal authorities raised particular concerns about Taktic and Bovitraz because both contain amitraz.
According to the EPA, amitraz can be toxic to bees and can contaminate honey, honeycomb and beeswax when misused in beehives. Human exposure through contaminated honey could cause neurological effects and potentially reproductive effects.
The EPA and FDA investigated the case with assistance from Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Trial Attorney Lauren D. Steele of the Justice Department's Environmental Crimes Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vincent J. Mazzurco and Madeleine Case prosecuted the case.
