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Plano woman arrested for counterfeit drugs
By Zach Markovic, zmarkovic@acnpapers.com
Federal authorities made two simultaneous arrests of a woman in Plano and a man in Honolulu, Hawaii, on charges of illegally trafficking fake drugs.
Qingming Hu, 60, was arrested without incident in Plano on March 25 for participating in and aiding this illegal scheme. A 30-year-old Chinese national from Kunming, Yunnan, China, was arrested in Hawaii. The arrest was made without incident by special agents from the following federal agencies: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.
Sengyang Zhou, aka “Tom,” traveled from China to Hawaii intending to meet with people interested in distributing his counterfeit weight-loss pills in the United States. The government has moved that Zhou be detained without bond pending the completion of the prosecution of this case.
Zhou's Web site, www.2daydietshopping.com, indicated that his business operated a U.S. branch out of Plano. Agents determined through investigation that the branch was operated by Hu, a naturalized U.S. citizen born in China. Some of the product shipped to Hu for redistribution to U.S. customers included “2 Day Diet” and “Super Slim,” items that were listed among the illegal, unapproved drugs by the FDA in its public alerts.
As part of the coordinated arrests of Zhou and Hu, federal agents executed a search warrant on the Plano residence that served as Zhou's United States branch.
According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint, during the course of 2008, 2009, and 2010, the FDA issued a series of alerts on its Web site concerning tainted weight-loss pills and counterfeit drugs. Initial alerts focused on “Superslim,” “2 Day Diet,” and Meitzitang, among other purported weight-loss products believed to have been imported from China and being marketed as dietary supplements or nutritional products. The FDA stated in these initial alerts that the items posed a very serious health risk to consumers, because, based on analysis, they were found to be drugs that contained undeclared active pharmaceutical ingredients, including Sibutramine, antidepressants, potent diuretics available only by prescription, and drugs not approved in the United States.
The ingredient Sibutramine, can cause high blood pressure, seizures, tachycardia, palpitations, heart attack or stroke. In later alerts, the FDA warned the public about counterfeit versions of the brand-name drug “Alli,” a popular over-the-counter weight loss drug manufactured by Glaxo-Smith Klein.
The affidavit indicates at least one victim of Zhou's crime. A man who had been taking an authentic version of Alli found a cheaper version of the product being sold over the Internet. The victim ordered the pills, which were allegedly counterfeit produced by Zhou. As a result, the victim took the pills and started to feel ill. The victim showed symptoms associated with heart palpitations, numbness in his left arm, severe anxiety, profuse sweating and chills. After examination by the FDA they determined the pills contained Sibutramine and were determined to be fake versions of Alli. Agents were able to tie the pill purchase to Zhou.
“An important mission of ICE is to enhance public safety by ensuring that counterfeit pharmaceuticals don't enter the stream of commerce and then into the hands of customers,” said John Morton, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). “With the outstanding teamwork among our law enforcement partners, our ICE agents have used our unique customs expertise and law enforcement authorities to quickly put an end to dangerous diet pills being sold to unsuspecting consumers.”
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