A man was indicted on Wednesday on charges of illegally importing veterinary drugs, in contravention of the Veterinary Drugs Control Act (動物用藥品管理法), the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office said.
The man, surnamed Lee (李), was arrested in March in a joint operation conducted by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, local branches of the Coast Guard Administration, and local animal and plant disease control departments, the office said.
Authorities seized 1,119 bottles of avian flu vaccines in Chiayi County during the operation, prosecutors said.
Photo courtesy of the Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office
Prosecutors began investigating the case after receiving a tip-off, they said.
The investigation showed that Lee ordered 343 boxes, each containing 10 bottles of avian flu vaccines and antibodies of waterfowl parvovirus from Chinese e-commerce platform Taobao in February. He then mislabeled them as cleaning supplies when they were shipped to Taiwan, prosecutors said.
Lee purchased the drugs for NT$550 per bottle and sold eight boxes to a man surnamed Wu (吳) and another surnamed Yang (楊) for NT$700 per bottle, prosecutors said.
The authorities have not yet accounted for the remaining bottles of drugs, but prosecutors are continuing their investigation, the agency said in a press release on Wednesday.
The prosecutors said that Lee was aware of Taiwan’s epidemic prevention policies, which prohibit the use of avian flu vaccines and waterfowl parvovirus antibody vaccines.
Lee had previously contravened the same law and received a five-year suspended sentence from the Yunlin District Court in 2021.
Those who illegally produce, import or sell veterinary drugs may receive a maximum prison sentence of seven years and an additional fine of up to NT$4.5 million (US$138,570), the agency said.
People working in animal husbandry or aquaculture who use unauthorized drugs on their animals could incur fines of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000.
Multiple offenses within one year would result in fines of NT$500,000 to NT$2.5 million.
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