45 countries have taken part in an international week of action targeting the online sale of counterfeit and illegal medicines to raise awareness of the associated health risks, resulting in arrests across the globe and the seizure of thousands of potentially harmful medicines.
Carried out between 5 and 12 October and involving police, customs and national medicines regulators with support from Internet Service Providers (ISPs), payment systems providers and delivery services, the global operation targeted the three main components abused in the illegal website trade: the Internet Service Provider (ISP), the electronic payment system and the delivery service.
Internet monitoring revealed 694 websites engaged in illegal activity, 290 of which have now been shut down. In addition, some 268,000 packages were inspected by regulators and customs, almost 11,000 packages were seized and just over 1 million illicit and counterfeit pills were confiscated – including antibiotics, steroids, anti-cancer, anti-depression and anti-epileptic pills, as well as slimming or food supplement pills. Some 76 individuals are currently under investigation or under arrest for a range of offences, including illegally selling and supplying unlicensed or prescription-only medicines.
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