MORE THAN 51,000 black market medicines and prescription drugs have been seized in the Republic as part of a week-long international operation involving authorities in more than 80 countries.
The IMB – the Irish Medicines Board – the Revenue’s Customs Service and the Garda all took part in Operation Pangea IV, which targets the online sale of illegal drugs.
Overall, 2.4 million drugs worth more than €5 million were recovered and 13,495 websites shut down as a result of the global operation which involved law enforcement agencies, national medicines boards, internet service providers and payment systems providers.
In the Republic, 51,621 tablets, capsules and creams, with an estimated value of more than €150,000, were recovered after 492 packages were seized. The medicines captured included mood stabilisers, weight loss tablets and erectile dysfunction drugs.
In Northern Ireland, drugs worth £150,000 were seized after 150 packages containing steroids, diazepam and other medicines were intercepted.
Pangea IV is the fourth such action co-ordinated by Interpol and the World Health Organisation against websites that supply illegal and dangerous medicines.
The first operation took place in 2008 and involved just eight countries, including Ireland. Some 470 websites have been shut down or restricted from selling illegal medicines from Ireland since then, according to the medicines board.
“Counterfeit and illegal medicines pose a serious and potentially fatal threat to public health, said Pat O’Mahony, chief executive of the board.
“The IMB strongly advises consumers not to purchase medicines through any unauthorised sources as there can be no guarantee that they are genuine or safe.”
Mr O’Mahony also warned that as many criminal gangs were behind the sale of counterfeit medicines, people buying such items online put themselves at risk of credit card fraud and identity theft.
