International operation seizes fake drugs and shuts websites
An international week of action against counterfeit and illicit medicines has led to the closure of hundreds of websites around the world.
An international week of action against counterfeit and illicit medicines has led to the closure of hundreds of websites around the world.
Interpol and the World Health Organisation's International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) co-ordinated raids in 24 countries in Operation Pangea II, during which thousands of illicit controlled or prescription-only drugs supplied by more than 750 websites were confiscated.
Internationally, customs officers and regulators seized nearly 167,000 illicit and counterfeit pills for treating conditions ranging from asthma and pain relief to erectile dysfunction and hair loss.
The operation also included a public awareness campaign to warn the public about the dangers of buying medicines from unregulated websites.
In the UK, enforcement officers from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) arrested three people during raids in London, Chelmsford, Romford, Bristol, Brighton, Stoke-on-Trent, Leicester and Shrewsbury. Six websites were closed down and £300,000 worth of illicit medicines seized, as well as quantities of controlled drugs.
MHRA Head of Enforcement, Mick Deats, said that what looked like a professional online pharmacy would turn out to be an illicit website selling fake or illegal medication.
"We have recovered a range of different medicines that were being supplied with no prescription and stored in unacceptable conditions by persons unqualified to dispense medicines," he said.
"The dangers of purchasing medicines from unregulated websites are that you just don't know what you are taking. The dosages could be either too high or too low, contain no pharmaceutical ingredient or a totally different ingredient to that stated."
He added that illegal suppliers have no quality control or standards to abide by.
"People who purchase medicine from these sources will never know where the tablets they are putting in their mouths have actually originated or what they contain.'