Man arrested in California for selling counterfeit drugs

A man has been arrested by special agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) unit for selling illicit goods, including counterfeit pharmaceuticals.

Nicholas Ramon Ramirez, 60, from Madera, California, has been selling a large quantity of misbranded medications and pharmaceuticals.

According to a statement by ICE, many of the seized pharmaceuticals were illegally imported from Mexico and are not approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in the US.

Further, ICE said in the statement that Ramirez will be charged with various offences as well as selling drugs in violation of the California state’s health safety code.

David Linn, Madera County district attorney, said: “Since included in the material which we have obtained are significant amounts of pharmaceuticals, we believe that these are serious crimes which could gravely endanger the health of Madera County citizens.”

The enforcement action is part of an ongoing probe that began earlier this year after HSI received information about shipments of Chinese-made goods being sent to Madera.

HSI and US Customs and Border Protection made more than 28,000 seizures of counterfeit goods in the last fiscal year. The estimated value of these goods is $1.4 billion.