She's popped on pill rap

Authorities yesterday charged a Northeast Philadelphia woman with illegally importing and possession with intent to distribute more than four million diet pills that had not been approved for sale by the Food and Drug Administration.

Mimi Trieu, 45, of Brighton Street near Summerdale Avenue, allegedly sold 1.75 million pills, netting herself more than $245,000.

Trieu pleaded not guilty in federal magistrate court yesterday to mail fraud, conspiracy to smuggle goods and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. She was released on $50,000 cash bond.

Authorities said Trieu owned Hong Kong Beauty International, on Whitaker Avenue near Adams, and imported and distributed herbal supplements, skin and beauty products, and diet pills containining sibutramine.

Sibutramine is a controlled substance and cannot be prescribed or distributed without FDA approval. It can cause significant side effects, including heart attacks and strokes, the indictment said.

She allegedly imported and sold the pills between October 2008 and April 2010, even after learning they contained subutramine and other dangerous substances and weren't FDA-approved.

There are no allegations that anyone was harmed from the tainted pills, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Grieb.

The FDA issued a consumer alert in 2009 about tainted diet pills that contained undeclared subutramine; phenytoin, an anti-seizure drug; and phenolphthalein, a chemical solvent that could possibly cause cancer.

Trieu told customers the diet pills contained natural ingredients and did not disclose that they contained subutramine, authorities said. If convicted of all charges, she could face up to three years in a federal lockup.