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3 April 2020AmericasSarah Morgan

UK man charged with smuggling mislabelled COVID-19 kits into US

A British man has been charged with smuggling mislabelled drugs, purporting to be a treatment for those suffering from COVID-19, into the US.

Frank Ludlow, of West Sussex, UK, was charged with one count of introducing misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, a felony offence that carries a statutory maximum sentence of three years in prison.

Ludlow had allegedly been repackaging “Trinity Remedy” kits as “Trinity COVID-19 SARS Antipathogenic Treatment” kits since the beginning of March.

“Hucksters who hawk ‘treatments’ for this deadly disease put consumers’ lives at risk by peddling unapproved drugs,” said Nick Hanna, US attorney for the Central District of California. “We are aggressively investigating all types of criminal activity associated with the current health emergency, and anyone attempting to cheat the public during this time will face severe penalties.”

The case was jointly investigated by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations Los Angeles and the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations.

According to a  press release from ICE, Ludlow allegedly smuggled the kits to the US by shipping mislabelled parcels containing them to individuals in California and Utah.

Ludlow’s business relationship with his Utah connection dates back to May 2017 when he sold her ‘Trinity Remedy’, a “miracle cure” for her severe medical issues, an affidavit filed with the complaint stated.

This “cure”, which was later rebranded as ‘Trinity Mind, Body & Soul’, reportedly contained vitamin C, an enzyme mix, potassium thiocyanate, and hydrogen peroxide. Both potassium thiocyanate and hydrogen peroxide are extremely harmful chemicals when the user is instructed to wash and rinse their mouth with them.

“Consumers were instructed to add 18 ounces of water, say a prayer, drink half of the solution, take a probiotic along with bee pollen, and then ingest the remainder of the solution, according to the affidavit,” said ICE.

In February or March 2020, Ludlow allegedly began selling kits named ‘Trinity COVID-19 SARS Antipathogenic Treatment’, with the same ingredients as his earlier “cure”.

Catherine Hermsen, assistant commissioner for criminal investigation at the FDA’s Office of Criminal Investigations, added: “The FDA will continue to take appropriate action to protect consumers from bad actors who take advantage of a pandemic to increase their profits while jeopardising the public health.”

Ludlow is  also facing charges in the UK for making counterfeit coronavirus treatment kits and sending them to customers across the world.

The City of London Police’s Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) arrested Ludlow in a post office near his home on March 20. He was allegedly attempting to send 60 fake treatment kits to France, the US, and other parts of the UK.

He remains in custody in the UK.

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More on this story

Big Pharma
17 October 2019   Pfizer UK has launched a new social media campaign urging people not to be “catfished” into buying counterfeit drugs.
Big Pharma
24 March 2020   Counterfeit face masks and unauthorised antiviral medication have been seized under Interpol’s annual Operation Pangea, as criminals seek to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by exploiting demand.

More on this story

Big Pharma
17 October 2019   Pfizer UK has launched a new social media campaign urging people not to be “catfished” into buying counterfeit drugs.
Big Pharma
24 March 2020   Counterfeit face masks and unauthorised antiviral medication have been seized under Interpol’s annual Operation Pangea, as criminals seek to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by exploiting demand.