RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) ó A report says regulators ignored complaints for months about tainted syringes produced at a North Carolina plant, where two officials have pleaded guilty to federal charges.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had complaints as early as 2005 about contamination in syringes filled with blood thinner by AM2PAT at its plant in Angier.

The FDA pulled product from the market in December 2007.

Authorities say the syringes sickened hundreds of people and are linked to five deaths.

Two company officials pleaded guilty to charges and officials are searching for the company’s president.