23 February 2010
folder [featCategs]
Catch-22 operation nets HCFC smugglers
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A US corporation and its president have been sentenced in Miami for illegally importing 418,654kg of R22.
The Florida-based Kroy Corporation and its president James Garrido have been sentenced on charges related to their smuggling of R22 contrary to the country's phase out of production and importation of ozone-depleting substances.
The offences were uncovered by a multi agency initiative codenamed Catch-22.
Garrido was sentenced to 30 months imprisonment to be followed by three years of supervised release. Kroy Corporation was sentenced to five years of probation. Additionally, Garrido and Kroy were sentenced to pay a criminal fine of $40,000 and were further ordered to forfeit $1,356,160.
The offences took place between from 2007 to April 2009 and comprised 29,107 cylinders in 11 separate shipments with a total fair market value of more than $3.9m.