A Mexican citizen living in San Diego was caught trying to smuggle dangerous, cancer-causing pesticides into California, authorities said.
Juan Velderrain Perez, 43, was apprehended at the Otay Mesa Port of Entry near San Diego last month with 24 liters of Mexican-label pesticides that are banned in the US, according to prosecutors.
The pesticides, labeled “Taktic,” contain the active ingredient amitraz, which has been banned since at least 2019, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The chemical poses reproductive, developmental and neurological risks, plus long-term cancer risks.
According to the complaint, Perez did not declare he had the chemicals when stopped at the US-Mexico border before issuing a plea to a border agent not to bust him.
He then allegedly confessed to having smuggled pesticides in the pas, as well as to expecting payment of a smuggling fee upon delivery.
A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 15. He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Prosecutors have pursued smuggling cases of pesticides across the California-Mexico border in the past as well.
In 2022, Sofia Mancera Morales, the ringleader of a cross-border pesticide smuggling network, was convicted of directing couriers to bring concentrated Taktic and Bovitraz across California ports of entry, according to Times of San Diego.
Amitraz reduced male fertility and live births in studies on animals.
