San Juan, Puerto Rico – Gilberto Escobar-López, the horse trainer at Hipódromo Camarero, has been slapped with a massive indictment for smuggling illegal animal drugs into the United States. The 55-year-old Canóvanas resident is currently in custody after a joint operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement-Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The feds allege that Escobar-López concealed illegal animal drugs in wooden crates shipped from Panama. The false bottoms of these crates contained a litany of banned substances meant to be used on horses at the Hipódromo Camarero Race Track, including the 2016 Clásico del Caribe Race.
The indictment lists Escobar-López with fifteen counts for Introducing Adulterated Animal Drugs into Interstate Commerce and one count of Smuggling Goods into the United States. The drugs in question include Norandren 50, Ganabol 50, Nabolic, Estimil SI, CH 77, and Bronquinort, among others.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Stuart Zander is leading the prosecution from the International Narcotics Unit, with support from ICE-HSI, FDA, CBP, and Airport Investigations and Tactical Team (AirTAT), which specializes in dismantling international drug trafficking organizations.
The maximum sentence for these offenses stands at 20 years of imprisonment. As per legal protocol, Escobar-López is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
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Key Facts
- State: Puerto Rico
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Fraud & Financial Crimes|Public Corruption|Organized Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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