Americans accused of selling dangerous substance as alleged cure for covid-19 and other diseases are arrested in Colombia

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(CNN Spanish) - On Tuesday, Colombian authorities arrested two Americans accused of various crimes for allegedly selling a substance that is part of the elements of an industrial bleach that was falsely advertised as a remedy for various diseases, including covid- 19.

Mark Grenon and his son, Joseph Timothy Grenon, were arrested in Santa Marta, in the Magdalena department, the Attorney General's Office reported in a statement.

The detainees, said the Public Ministry, "also sold the 'potion' in Colombia and, from Santa Marta, coordinated shipments to the United States and countries in Africa."

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The Colombian authorities added that the detainees were at the disposal of the Attorney General's Office.

The arrests were also communicated to the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs so that it could inform the United States embassy in Bogotá and "formalize the extradition requests."

CNN has been unable to establish contact with lawyers for the detainees in the United States.

According to a statement from the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida, in July the detainees were charged with criminal contempt, conspiracy to defraud the United States, and conspiracy to violate the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act for allegedly marketing the product, called "Miracle mineral solution" (MMS).

Two other sons of Mark Scott Grenon were also indicted by US federal prosecutors.

Until this Wednesday, the whereabouts of the men are unknown.

MMS: a "miracle solution" questioned

A US federal court in May banned the sale of MMS to the group, which identified itself as the Genesis II Church of Health and Healing, located in Bradenton, Florida, but has a presence in other countries on the American continent.

Federal Judge Kathleen M. Williams then argued that there was sufficient evidence that the defendants violated the law by posting on their website that the product, and saying that it was intended to "cure, mitigate, treat or prevent COVID-19, Alzheimer's, autism, brain cancer, HIV / AIDS and multiple sclerosis ”.

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had already said in mid-April that the alleged treatment included chlorine dioxide, which is used for industrial bleaching.

The agency has not approved the chemical to treat Covid-19 or other conditions.

The defendants allegedly sold tens of thousands of bottles of the substance across the country, including to consumers in South Florida, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of the state said.

The detainees in Colombia allegedly sent letters to the judge presiding over the civil case saying that they would not comply with the court's orders and would have threatened "violent acts," the Justice Department said in a statement.

US prosecutors said in July that the FDA had "received reports of people requiring hospitalizations, developing life-threatening conditions, and dying after drinking MMS."

The Colombian Prosecutor's Office reported on its Twitter account that the product offered by the detainees "would be the cause of death of seven US citizens."

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