Father, Son Arrested in Selling of Birth Control Drug

ORANGE — A father and son were arrested after allegedly selling an illegal drug at a swap meet to women who wanted to prevent pregnancy, authorities said Monday.

Manuel Javier King, 63, of Santa Ana and Oscar Eduardo King, 29, of Chula Vista were held Monday at Orange County Jail after their arrest at the Orange Swap Meet on Sunday, said Steven Rhoten, a state investigator.

The injectable drug they allegedly sold, called Perlotal, is illegal in the United States and is not proven to stop pregnancies, Rhoten said.

Acting on a tip, investigators for the Medical Board of California began an undercover operation Sunday morning and arrested the Kings, Rhoten said. A third man, Jesus Murillo of Chula Vista, also was suspected of selling the drug at the swap meet but left before investigators could locate him, Rhoten said.

The Kings lined their separate stalls with women’s cosmetics, while selling the injectable drug to women upon request, Rhoten said.

The drugs had markings showing that they were from Mexico, Rhoten said. But investigators do not know if the Kings brought them into the country.

The Kings were booked in jail on suspicion of practicing medicine without a license and selling controlled substances, Rhoten said. Manuel King was being held on $50,000 bail; his son was held in lieu of $10,000, according to jail officials.

Rhoten said swap meet operators apparently were not aware of the alleged drug sales and were not being investigated.