Gresham Man Charged With Smuggling and Attempting to Sell Chloroquine He Purchased From China

The medication has been touted by some as a “cure” for COVID-19.

A COVID-19 testing site in North Portland. (Brian Burk)

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon on Monday charged a Gresham man with smuggling chloroquine—the antimalarial drug touted as a COVID-19 "cure," a version of which killed an Arizona man in March.

Matthew Owens, 42, tried to smuggle chloroquine from China into Oregon, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced Monday.

On April 13, a homeland security investigator contacted the U.S. Food & Drug Administration's criminal investigation unit when a FedEx facility in Memphis intercepted a package containing 123 grams of a white powder.

The package was being shipped from Xiaoshan, China, to Owens' apartment in Gresham, court records show.

"I believe the parcel addressed to Owens and containing 122.8 grams of chloroquine was intended for manufacturing and/or distribution of unapproved new drugs that are prescription drugs and are misbranded," the investigator wrote in a probable cause affidavit.

Investigators later learned that two additional shipments were sent from China to Owens' apartment: one containing resveratrol, a chemical commonly found in dietary supplements, and another containing polyacrylamide, a chemical compound commonly used in wastewater treatment.

Two weeks after the package arrived in Memphis, investigators searched Owens' apartment. They discovered "an unopened bag of clear, empty capsules for encapsulating pharmaceuticals, a foil bag containing an unknown powder, and a material safety data sheet for polyacrylamide," according to the press release from Homeland Security Investigations.

Investigators also read through messages between Owens and potential customers.

"K…Might take a while and customs may take it…They took my shit a few times," Owens wrote in a message March 19, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in federal court.

"Lol…The Russian stuff always scares me at customs," the other person responded, according to court documents.

"This is coming from Wuhan lol," Owens responded, later adding: "Old malaria drug kills the Corona as the chinx have known all along…The president spoke about it yesterday."

President Donald Trump has repeatedly touted chloroquine as a possible cure for COVID-19, although the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns it can be deadly.

Owens first appeared in federal court May 11. If convicted, he faces up to 23 years in federal prison, three years' probation and a $500,000 fine.

"There are some individuals actively trying to profit off the pandemic and, in the process, putting more lives as risk," said U.S. Attorney Billy Williams for the District of Oregon in a press release. "We will not let these selfish and dangerous criminal acts continue unchecked."

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