£150,000 of illicit drugs seized in Northern Ireland during global enforcement action week – Poots

Health Minister Edwin Poots has today given details of illegal and counterfeit medicines seized in Northern Ireland during a global enforcement operation.
~ Thursday, 29 September 2011

Involving regulatory and enforcement agencies in over 80 countries, Operation Pangea IV, is an international week of action targeting the online sale of counterfeit and illegal medicines and their delivery routes.

The illicit drugs recovered included steroids, mephedrone, pain relief injections and diazepam.

Mr Poots said: “Our primary goal is to protect the public by removing counterfeit and illicit medicines from the market. As part of my Department’s ongoing strategy to combat the supply of illegal medicines over the internet we have, in partnership with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) and the PSNI, recovered a range of different medicines.

“In Northern Ireland alone, over £150,000 worth of illegal drugs have been recovered during this operation. Over 150 packages have been intercepted destined for addresses throughout Northern Ireland.”

International results from Operation Pangea IV include the following:

• A total of 81 countries and over 165 agencies participated;
• Over 2 million units/doses of medicinal products seized;
• The value of seized illicit and counterfeit medicines has been estimated at approximately £5million;
• Over 13,000 websites closed down worldwide;
• Total packages seized – 7,901;
• Persons arrested – 55.

The Minister continued: “It is vital that we get the message across that when you purchase medicines from an illegal supplier online, you just don’t know what you are taking.

“Illegal suppliers have no quality control or legal standards to abide by. Additionally people who buy from these illegal sources will never know where the tablets they are putting in their mouths have originated or what they really contain.

“I would urge the public to be vigilant and ensure that they do not put their health at risk or fund this crime by purchasing medication from an illicit source.

“If in doubt, consult your GP or pharmacist.”

The Department's Medicines Regulatory Group has conducted several recent investigations into illegal importation and supply of unlicensed and counterfeit medicines and has several cases currently before the Courts for this activity.

Operation Pangea IV was co-ordinated by Interpol and the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT). National medicines regulators, police and customs worked closely together on the global operation from 20-27th September 2011.

Notes to editors:

1. The availability of medicines on the internet is a global issue and UK regulatory bodies recognise that a multi-faceted approach is essential to more tightly regulate this in the public interest. The Department’s Medicines Regulatory Group (MRG) continues to be proactive in acting to combat this problem and works closely with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the UK licensing authority for medicinal products for human use, to raise public awareness of the dangers inherent in purchasing medicines from unregulated websites.

2. On a worldwide basis, it is estimated that 13,495 websites were closed down and 2,422,636.66 of medicinal products seized totalling an estimated £5million.

3. The World Health Organisation estimates that up to 1% of medicines available in the developed world are likely to be counterfeit.

4. Counterfeit medicine is more commonly available to consumers via on line pharmacies. The World Health Organisation estimates 50% of medicines available from sites which conceal their physical address are counterfeit.

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