MHRA clamps down on counterfeiters
The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) anti-counterfeiting operation has resulted in the seventh and final member of a multi-million pound international counterfeit gang being sentenced at Kingston Crown Court.
The UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) anti-counterfeiting operation has resulted in the seventh and final member of a multi-million pound international counterfeit gang being sentenced at Kingston Crown Court.
The 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, concluded a series of trials carried out by the MHRA under Operation Stormgrand.
Alpesh Patel was prosecuted for masterminding an industrial scale conspiracy of supplying counterfeit medicines between 2002 and 2005 involving millions of pounds worth of fake Viagra, Cialis and Propecia.
Operation Stormgrand has resulted in convictions totalling nearly 20 years" imprisonment and confiscation orders worth £3m.
The 2005 MHRA investigation unravelled the largest ever scam of counterfeit medicines in the UK with more than £1.5m of fake drugs seized during the operation.
The London Regional Assets Recovery Team carried out the financial investigation alongside the MHRA, which traced a complex network of individuals, companies and bank accounts that facilitated the movements of these drugs.
The gang was part of the UK distribution arm of a global ring operating from China, India and Pakistan, and extending to the Caribbean and US.
Mick Deats, the MHRA's head of enforcement, said the successful prosecutions send a clear signal to those contemplating supplying counterfeit medicines.
"We will continue to use every power at our disposal to prosecute those engaged in this illicit activity and confiscate the proceeds of their crimes," he said.
"The public are strongly advised to avoid buying medicines online where the risk of being provided with a counterfeit is greatly increased."