An Alexandria couple has been accused of running an illegal pharmacy out of an apartment, selling drugs smuggled from El Salvador.
Authorities say Elsy and Fausto Rubio had been running the illegal pharmacy from their apartment on Florence Drive for more than two years, earning between $2,000 and $3,000 a month selling misbranded drugs they had snuck across the border.
The two were charged Monday with conspiracy to distribute diazepam, also known as Valium.
The Food and Drug Administration was tipped off to the alleged operation in December 2008 by a witness, charging documents said. At the urging of an FDA agent, the witness purchased 200 tablets of diazepam, 20 boxes of an injectable contraceptive labeled Nomagest, 48 packs of an oral contraceptive called Nueva Perla, and 400 capsules of antibiotics.
All of the drugs were prescription drugs and misbranded because of their Spanish labeling, an FDA agent wrote in a sworn statement. They lacked adequate directions for use and the antibiotics were not approved by the FDA for distribution in the United States.
Over the next several months, an Arlington County undercover detective became a steady buyer of diazepam, building the evidence authorities needed for a search warrant, court documents said.
When the search warrant was executed by the FDA on June 12, 2009, they found “numerous” misbranded medications including birth control, antibiotics, diazepam and medications containing ingredients that are banned in the United States, the statement said. All of the drugs were kept inside a four-drawer filing cabinet that stood in the Rubios’ kitchen.
FDA agents then questioned the two. Fausto did most of the talking as he reportedly explained how they ran a courier business transporting the personal belongings of friends and family back and forth to El Salvador, court documents said. They also would bring back dairy products to sell to the Salvadoran population in Northern Virginia as well as medications.
Elsy Rubio at first said she knew the pharmaceuticals were illegal, but then backtracked to say she was not sure, the agent wrote. She did say that some of the medications were occasionally seized by U.S. customs officers as they made their way across the border.
