KANSAS CITY — A 37-year-old Belgian man will get four years in federal prison for operating an Internet pharmacy that sold misbranded and counterfeit drugs as well as controlled substances. U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said Manuel Calvelo was arrested in Costa Rica and extradited to Kansas. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud the united states and one count of conspiracy to commit drug trafficking. He admitted that over three years, he and another man operated Web sites offering for sale more than 40 brand-name drugs without a prescription. He was taken to Kansas because he used an Overland Park company to host his Web sites. An undercover agent from the Food and Drug Administration bought drugs from Calvelo’s web sites and later contacted Calvelo in Costa Rica posing as a pharmaceutical wholesaler in the United States seeking help to establish an on-line pharmacy. Calvelo told the agent of his role in the Internet pharmacy scheme and provided details of the operation. Co-defendant Jeffrey Westmoreland, a citizen of Canada, is a fugitive.
Tuesday, June 7, 8:30 a.m.
