Assistant U. S. Attorney Melanie K. Pierson (619) 546-7976
NEWS RELEASE SUMMARY – September 8, 2022
SAN DIEGO – Felipa Oliveros was sentenced in federal court today to three months in custody for smuggling pesticides into the United States from Mexico.
Oliveros pleaded guilty in April 2022 to smuggling bottles of Bovitraz or Taktic into the United States. Oliveros had been charged as part of a larger organized pesticide smuggling ring, which also included her daughter, Laura Orellana, who was sentenced to 92 days in custody for her role in the conspiracy.
On June 7, 2022, Sofia Mancera Morales, the ringleader of this pesticide smuggling organization, was sentenced to eight months in custody and ordered to pay $7,497 in restitution for the cost of disposal of the illegal pesticides. In pleading guilty, Mancera had acknowledged she obtained the illegal pesticides in Mexico and delivered them to others to smuggle into the United States.
According to sentencing documents, Mancera recruited individuals via Facebook, offering to pay $40-$150/box of six 1-liter bottles delivered to the United States. Morales directed her recruits to deliver the pesticides to a self-storage facility near the border in Calexico and required them to send her photographs of the pesticides in the storage unit as proof of delivery prior to payment. Mancera paid the recruits to lease self-storage units in their own names, and provide her with the keys. Recruits caught at the border with pesticides reported that they had seen items delivered by others in their self-storage units, including pesticides, veterinary medications and alcohol. One recruit delivered almost 1,000 bottles of pesticides in a one-month period, while others advised that they had delivered pesticides two to five times per week.
The pesticides involved were primarily Bovitraz and Taktic, which contain the active ingredient amitraz at an emulsifiable concentration of 12.5 percent. In the United States, amitraz in this form is a cancelled and unregistered pesticide. Amitraz is an acaricide that, in the United States, is registered to control varroa mites in honeybee colonies at a concentration of 3.33 percent and is also registered for use in dog flea collars. Additionally, amitraz is classified as a Group C possible human carcinogen based upon rodent studies, and, therefore, long-term exposure could result in cancer.
Federal law prohibits the distribution and sale of cancelled or unregistered pesticides. Only pesticides registered with the EPA may be imported or sold in the United States. All pesticides intended for use in the United States must bear their EPA registration number on their labels, preceded by the phrase “EPA Registration No.” or “EPA Reg. No.” In addition, all required information on a label must appear in the English language. All of the containers smuggled by this group were labeled only in Spanish and bore no EPA registration numbers. The lawful importation of pesticides into the United States requires a Notice of Arrival to be provided to U.S. Customs or U.S. EPA, pursuant to 19 CFR 12.112. None of the co-conspirators provided a Notice of Arrival for the pesticides in this case.
This case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California and the U.S. Department of Justice, Environmental Crimes Section.
DEFENDANT Case Number 20cr3054-JAH__
Felipa Oliveros Age: 52 El Centro, California
SUMMARY OF CHARGES
Smuggling – Title 18, U.S.C., Section 545
Maximum penalty: Five years in prison and $250,000 fine
AGENCY
Homeland Security Investigations; Environmental Protection Agency, Criminal Investigation Division; California Environmental Protection Agency