fbpx

Organized Crime Targets Counterfeit Drugs

Poisonous Drugs and the Shadows of People Walking

Counterfeit drugs are reaching unsuspecting consumers by way of organized crime groups, according to INTERPOL. These groups are a dangerous threat, trafficking substandard medicines, mostly including erectile dysfunction medication, slimming pills, cancer drugs, and pain and anxiety relief medication.

Attracted by the huge profits to be made through pharmaceutical crime, organized crime groups use a variety of approaches to manufacture the drugs they sell. They often create the drugs they sell from scratch from various powders, including harmful ones. They may lace them with a small amount of the drug’s active ingredient to ensure they pass chemical tests. Some criminal groups even obtain discarded out-of-date drugs and repackage them with fresh dates, or buy cheap generic drugs and replace the labels and packaging to make them look like top-brand medicines. To distribute the drugs, they operate across national borders and often sell them on rogue internet sites.

According to INTERPOL, in some cases, criminals have been found to be in medical professions, holding positions within genuine pharmacies and diverting medicines or buying known counterfeit medicines in order to make private gains. Criminals are also known to operate the pharmacies themselves, as well as wholesalers, distribution companies and other facilities, leading to the development of criminal rings in which counterfeit and illicit medicines are moved through the legal supply chain.

In response to the problem, INTERPOL is coordinating operations in the field to disrupt these criminal networks. Their efforts include delivering training to build skills and knowledge of all agencies involved in fighting pharmaceutical crime and building partnerships across a variety of sectors. As CSIP and our members and stakeholders do in the United States, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in Britain is working with internet domain registries, credit card companies, Interpol, and sites such as YouTube, Amazon and eBay to identify rogue traders, taking down their websites and closing their accounts.

At CSIP we suggest that consumers always be cautious when purchasing prescription drugs online. Before you buy, make sure you check your chosen online pharmacies using
LegitScript’s Pharmacy Verification Tool. In addition, you can now report suspected rogue online drug sellers directly to the Food and Drug Administration using the portal on our website.

#####

The Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) and our 13 member companies have the shared goal of helping address the growing problem of consumer access to illegitimate pharmaceutical products on the Internet. Continue to read this blog for updates on CSIP’s education, enforcement and information-sharing efforts.