UN calls for stiffer measures against cyber pharmacies

More forceful measures should be taken against illicit trafficking and the diversion of pharmaceutical products containing narcotic drugs or psychotropic substances via the Internet, according to the UN agency the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) in its annual report.

The report draws attention to an increase in cyber trafficking of pharmaceutical products containing internationally controlled substances, and calls on governments to take a more proactive stand. Citing uneven and lax implementation of laws governing the Internet, the INCB says governments should ensure that illicit trafficking and the diversion of such pharmaceutical products are established as criminal offences and that offences are punishable by sanctions commensurate with their gravity.

In some recently seized Internet pharmacies in the US, nearly 90% of the orders were for internationally controlled substances, including hydrocodone, diazepam and alprazolam. These Internet ordered substances are also smuggled by mail to other countries. Psychotropic substances offered for sale through the Internet have been shipped from Asia to Europe and the US, and even Ritalin (methylphenidate), an amphetamine-type stimulant controlled under the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances, has been sold via the Internet.

Controlling Internet pharmacies is a complicated task, because these pharmacies are operating all over the world and can and do relocate their business in case of strengthened legislative and law enforcement efforts in a particular country, the report warns. Different national laws and regulations make it difficult consistently to identify and investigate illicit use of the Internet. In addition, the sheer volume of letters and parcels shipped on a daily basis makes it extremely difficult for law enforcement agencies to detect illicit shipments and to identify sources of illicit supply.

The INCB also notes with concern that the judiciary in many countries still does not attribute adequate severity to diversions and trafficking of licitly manufactured controlled substances. It therefore calls upon national authorities to ask the judiciary to ensure that sufficient importance and adequate penalties be attributed to such offences.

Examples of successful dealings with offenders over recent years show the necessity for increased cooperation between national authorities within countries, such as law enforcement, customs and mail administration, as well as international co-operation between law enforcement and customs authorities, it adds.