Twelve Defendants Arrested for Misbranded Pesticides Sold in NY Chinatown

Following various severe cases of poisoning, various law enforcement agencies began a joint undercover investigation of the illegal sale of toxic pesticides in and around New York City.

That ended today with the arrest of twelve defendants charged for illegal distribution and sale of unregistered and misbranded pesticides in multiple locations within the Manhattan area.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that federal criminal charges have been filed against two defendants, Chen Yan Huang and Jai Ping Chen, and state criminal charges against 10 other defendants.

According to the EPA, the pesticides were wrongfully packed and could have even been mistaken for cookies or cough medicine. They were not registered by EPA and were missing required label warnings, which made them particularly dangerous.

"As alleged, these defendants were literally peddling poison to an unwitting public, putting the health and safety of their customers and their families in jeopardy,” said U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. “As a result of this unprecedented collaborative law enforcement effort, tremendous quantities of these highly toxic and potentially lethal chemicals have been confiscated, and the people allegedly responsible for creating this public health risk will be punished."

In addition to the twelve arrests, federal and state law enforcement agents also searched 14 locations and seized more than 6,000 packages of pesticides containing high levels of toxic chemicals that were not approved for commercial sale in the United States.

In addition, EPA and DEC civil inspectors seized 350 additional unregistered pesticide products, of 16 different varieties, many with high levels of toxicity, following a search conducted in 47 businesses in various neighborhoods in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens.

The pesticide products purchased and seized as part of the investigation, as released by Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, include:
    •    The Cat Be Unemployed, a rodenticide containing brodifacoum, an anticoagulant poison, in concentrations more than 40 to 60 times the maximum allowable by the EPA.
    •    Rodenticide containing sodium fluoroacetate, in concentrations far exceeding EPA limits.  No registered pesticide products in New York contain sodium fluoroacetate; under federal law, sodium fluoroacetate is restricted for use in livestock collars and only by trained, certified applicators.
    •    Fuzhou Control Termite Company roach bait, containing the insecticide fipronil, and resembling a crumbled, sweet cookie.
    •    MieZhangQing, roach bait containing fipronil and resembling a crumbled, sweet cookie.