Pharmaceutical crime is a major global public health problem, as the trade in counterfeit and illicit health products affects all countries through points of origin, transit or destination.
Patients around the world are putting their health and even their lives at risk by unknowingly consuming fake and unregulated medical products, or products that have been altered, diverted, improperly stored, or are past their expiration date. For the 14th consecutive year, the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center (IPR Center) joined 94 Interpol member countries in a coordinated crackdown on illicit online pharmacies dubbed “Operation Pangea XV” from June 23-30 . The operation generated more than 7,800 seizures of illicit and counterfeit drugs, totaling more than three million individual units valued at $11 million.
“Trading counterfeit or illicit medicines online may seem like a misdemeanor, but the consequences for victims are life-threatening,” said Interpol Secretary General Jürgen Stock. “The illicit supply chains and business models behind the counterfeit drug trade are inherently international, meaning law enforcement has to work together across borders to effectively protect consumers.”
Every day drug advertisements invade the internet, they are posted on social media or other websites. Behind this marketing, however, are often fraudulent products that harm consumers’ health rather than cure it.
The global trade in illicit pharmaceuticals was valued at $4.4 billion in 2016—and attracts the participation of organized crime groups around the world.
During the week-long operation, law enforcement:
- Researched over 4,000 web links, mostly from social media platforms and messaging apps;
- Close or remove more than 4,000 web links containing advertisements for illicit products;
- Inspected nearly 3,000 packages and 280 postal centers at airports, borders, and mail or cargo mail distribution centers; Y
- He opened more than 600 new investigations and issued more than 200 search warrants.
While results are still coming in, enforcement actions have already disrupted the activities of at least 36 organized crime groups.
Cross Border Crimes
Nearly half (48 percent) of the packages inspected by law enforcement during the operation were found to contain illicit or counterfeit medications.
Fake or unauthorized erectile dysfunction drugs comprised at least 40 percent of all products seized. Law enforcement in Australia, Argentina, Malaysia, and the United States also seized more than 317,000 unauthorized COVID-19 test kits. US seizures alone are estimated at nearly $3 million.
The illicit drug trade extends far beyond the borders of any country. Products are often manufactured in one country and shipped to another, while drug advertisements are hosted on websites located in other countries.
In Malaysia alone, law enforcement has identified more than 2,000 websites selling or advertising fake or restricted pharmaceuticals.
Social media and messaging apps are also used to advertise counterfeit or illicit medicines, and Operation Pangea XV identified more than 1,200 such ads across all major platforms.
In the framework of Operation Pangea XV, Interpol was able to count on the support of Europol, the World Customs Organization, the Container Control Program of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the regulatory agencies of health and the Institute for Pharmaceutical Safety.
Interpol’s Global Health and Illicit Goods Program works to dismantle criminal networks and reduce the risk that counterfeit and illicit pharmaceuticals pose to public health.
Since 2008, Operation Pangea has combated the global trade in counterfeit pharmaceuticals and illicit medical devices marketed and sold online. Pangea also aims to raise public awareness of the risks associated with purchasing medicines from unregulated websites.