More than £5 million worth of counterfeit and illegal medicines has been seized across the globe as part of a week-long international crackdown on the illicit internet trade in pharmaceuticals.
The operation is the largest internet-targeting enforcement action of its kind with 80 countries participating in this year’s event, almost twice as many as took part in 2010.
Operation Pangea IV ran between 20–27 September and resulted in 55 people being arrested, or placed under investigation, worldwide. It also saw an estimated 13,500 illegal online pharmacy websites being shut down.
Internationally, more than 45,000 packages were inspected by regulators and customs officials resulting in the seizure of approximately 2.5 million doses of unlicensed and counterfeit pills being sold illegally.
Co-ordinated by INTERPOL and carried out with the assistance of police, customs and national medicines regulators, the operation targeted the three main elements misused in the illegal website trade – the internet infrastructure, the electronic payment system and the mail delivery service.
In the United Kingdom, enforcement officers from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), with assistance from local police, arrested 13 people and raided 16 addresses in connection with the illegal internet supply of medicines.
In conjunction with the UK Border Agency, the MHRA seized more than one million doses of illegal medicine worth approximately £2 million, including 52,000 doses of counterfeit pills.
MHRA Acting Head of Enforcement, Nimo Ahmed, said that any online pharmacy that supplies ‘prescription only’ medicine without evidence of a prescription is committing an offence.
“This week we have recovered a range of medicines being supplied without prescriptions and stored in unacceptable conditions by people who are not qualified to dispense medicines. An illegal supplier may be good at setting up a website but that does not make them a pharmacist.
“When you buy medicines from an unregulated source you don’t know what you’re getting, where it came from or if it’s safe to take,” he said. “The dose could be too high or too low, or the ingredients could break down incorrectly in the body which makes the medicine ineffective.
“Illegal suppliers do not adhere to quality control or standards that are required in the licensed trade. If people could see the filthy conditions some of these medicines are being made, stored and transported in, they certainly wouldn’t touch them.
“Don’t be tempted by cut price medicines and promises of ‘next day delivery’. Taking short cuts could expose you to a dangerous counterfeit or substandard medicine, or you could be the victim of identity theft or credit card fraud.
“The bottom line is that there are no quick fixes when it comes to your health. Take the time to see your GP to identify the cause of your symptoms. You are more likely to get better faster if you are on the correct course of prescribed medication.”
Working alongside the MHRA, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) Police Central eCrime Unit (PCeU) also took action to combat those profiting from the unlawful sale and distribution of pharmaceuticals online.
More than 12,000 generic top level domains and sub domains have been suspended and they have requested a further 500 domain names on the UK domain tree be shut down.
Specifically, in support of Operation Pangea, the PCeU has also identified web pages being used by persons to unlawfully offer to supply unlicensed and counterfeit pharmaceuticals, targeting the UK general public. Approximately 600 web pages have been suspended in response to PCeU requests made to internet market places and social media sites.
Detective Superintendent Charlie McMurdie, said, "This action is being taken as part of our continuing efforts to reduce the harm caused to the UK economy and to UK citizens by those making use of the internet to commit crime.
“We support the MHRA’s International Internet Week of Action and appreciate the steps taken by others to support our efforts."
UKBA Senior Operations Manager - Coventry International Hub, Chris Bagley, said, “The massive haul detected by our officers during this week of action makes it clear just how seriously we take the smuggling of fake and unlicensed medicines.
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Work with your GP to get well? Most GP's shouldn't have a license. I tried for 12 years and huge numbers of trips to get help. They left me to rot. GP's do nothing but take handouts from drug companies and their paycheck, while you get shafted. Being a patient means you have no rights. You are in one to one tyranny. I'm sure they are trying to help. But many people get good safe medicines online that their so called expert doctors are shit at even understanding let alone managing.
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