A Louisiana veterinarian is accused of using a synthetic version of the drug dermorphin to influence the outcomes of horse races at four tracks that state.

Dermorphin is an opioid about 30 times more potent than morphine that is naturally secreted by South American tree frogs. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved any drug containing dermorphin for use in humans or animals; however, the drug has been illegally used in horse racing as a performance enhancer due to its painkilling abilities.

An indictment handed down on Feb. 9 by a grand jury in the Western District of Louisiana said that, between November 2010 and May 2012, Kyle James Hebert, DVM, allegedly provided syringes containing dermorphin to at least four trainers at tracks in Western Louisiana. Hebert told trainers that the drug would make the horses “focus and run faster,” the indictment said.

Hebert operates Southern Equine Sports Medicine, in Lake Charles and Sunset, Louisiana, and is licensed to practice at racetracks by the Louisiana State Racing Commission