Woman Charged in Illegal Sale of Medications
VAN NUYS — A 29-year-old woman was formally accused Monday of dealing in dangerous prescription drugs at a swap meet booth on Van Nuys Boulevard.
Bertha Cortes was charged with dispensing a prescription drug without a license and offering improperly labeled drugs for sale.
The city attorney’s office said an undercover sheriff’s deputy purchased Herklin shampoo, a prescription product used to treat head lice, from Cortes on June 5. Deputies said they confiscated penicillin, birth control drugs, steroids and Valium from Cortes’ booth at the Bazaar Indoor Swap Meet.
Last week, similar charges were filed against Irma Osornio, 33, who allegedly operated a pharmaceuticals booth at a swap meet on Sepulveda Boulevard in North Hills.
Since February, the city attorney’s office has filed criminal charges against 24 people as part of a crackdown on the illegal sale of prescription drugs. Eleven have been convicted, 12 are awaiting arraignment and two have pleaded not guilty and are awaiting trial.
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