Over 60,000 falsified, counterfeit and other illegal medicines with a combined value of €350,000 have been seized by the Irish authorities as part of a worldwide clampdown in illicit online drug sales.
The haul included anabolic steroids, sedatives, painkillers, stimulants, injectible tanning products, botox, weight loss products as well as cancer and erectile dysfunction drugs, according to the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).
The medicines were seized as part of Operation Pangea IX, which is coordinated by Interpol internationally. As part of the operation, 67 offending websites were reported for illegally supplying prescription only and other unauthorised and illicit medicines via the internet.
In Ireland, the operation was led by the authority, Revenue's Customs Service and the Garda Síochána. A total of 193 enforcement agencies across 103 countries were involved.
The biggest number of seizures, accounting for just over half of the total haul, was of anabolic steroids. Some 9,000 erectile dysfunction tablets and 6,500 sedative tablets were also seized.
The authority says 78 units of misoprostol and mifepristone, drugs used to induce early abortions, were seized.
The main countries of origin for the illegal drugs were India, the US, the UK, Romania, Switzerland, Singapore and Poland.
During the operation, 425 individual packages of medicines were detained by customs at its mail hubs. Eight search warrants were executed which led to two arrests. The 67 websites investigated included three advertisements on separate websites in Ireland. Five of these have amended their sites, the authority says.
Lorraine Nolan, chief executive of the authority, said it was important for the public to realise falsified medicines and medical devices pose a very significant risk to health.
She said: “From tests on some products detained in recent years, many of these medicines contain too much or too little or no active ingredient at all - there are simply no guarantees as to what is contained in the products.
“We urge members of the public not to use unverified and unregulated sources to buy prescription only and illegal medicines, including over the internet.
“No online pharmacy is authorised to supply prescription medicines into Ireland and members of the public are reminded that, under the law, the supply of prescription medicines by mail order (including the internet) is prohibited. They are putting their health at risk.”
Worldwide, Pangea resulted in 318 arrests and the closure of 4,938 illegal websites. Over 11 million medicines were seized with a total estimated value of almost €43 million.
