The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office on Sept. 14 announced it had shut down two businesses alleged to have sold misbranded, illegal and counterfeit pharmaceutical drugs.

Prosecutors closed Tienda Puerto Quetzal and Tienda Quetzal Nava, located in the Vermont Square and University Park neighborhoods, in addition to securing an injunction and $20,000 in penalties.

“Counterfeit and illegal pharmaceuticals can be deadly,” said City Attorney Mike Feuer, in a statement. “The closure of these two businesses, coupled with strong injunctive terms, send a clear message to those who seek to prey on our community.”

Each business was operated by Iris Anabella Gonzalez and her husband, Hugo Gonzalez Nava. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ordered the couple to shut down the businesses, pay $20,000 in civil penalties, and placed each under a 10-year injunction barring them from selling pharmaceuticals.

Both businesses had sold pinatas, stuffed animals and snacks – but had allegedly peddled counterfeit Diprospan, an injectable anti-inflammatory drug, and injectable birth control drugs, along with syringes, according to the City Attorney.

A search warrant led to the confiscation of nearly 3,000 illicit drugs from the stores, which were allegedly supplied by Gonzalez and Gonzalez Nava.

Health business reporter Dana Bartholomew can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @_DanaBart.