China arrests 2,000 for making counterfeit drugs
Authorities seize more than US$182m of fake medicines
Chinese government authorities have arrested almost 2,000 people and seized more than US$182m of counterfeit pharmaceuticals as part of a nationwide crackdown on the sale of fake drugs and healthcare products, according to Xinhua, the official news agency.
China’s public security ministry said it had mobilised more than 18,000 officers in recent weeks to break up drug counterfeiting rings.
The detentions and seizures, which took place in July, included drugs for diabetes, high blood pressure and rabies that were likely to contain harmful substances, the agency said.
The suspects even advertised their drugs online, in newspapers and on television.
The police also destroyed 1,100 production facilities.
The Chinese ministry said: ‘The criminals’ methods were despicable and have caused people to boil with rage.’
The ministry also said it would offer rewards of about $8,000 to those who help uncover fake medicine operations.
The crackdown comes amid growing concerns about the prevalence of counterfeit drugs and tainted food supplies in China, and increasingly sophisticated counterfeiting operations.
The public security ministry said the crime of making fake drugs is still ‘far from eradicated’ and criminals are ‘coming up with new schemes, becoming craftier and better able to deceive’.
While this crackdown is one of the largest in recent months, in November 2011 Chinese authorities said they had seized $30m worth of counterfeit drugs and arrested 114 suspects.
Sales of pharmaceuticals in China are expected to reach $115bn by 2015, nearly tripling from $42 billion in 2010, according to data from market researchers IMS Health.
