Major haul of counterfeit and unlicensed medicines and devices seized in UK

A total of 15.8 million pounds' worth of counterfeit and unlicensed medicines and devices have been obtained by authorities in the UK, the biggest seizure of its kind to date.

The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) coordinated with Interpol on the Operation Pangea VIII initiative, which concluded with a week of international raids between June 9th and 16th that resulted in 156 arrests worldwide.

Among the UK haul were large quantities of illegally supplied and potentially harmful slimming pills, erectile dysfunction tablets, anaemia tablets and narcolepsy tablets, as well as unlicensed foreign medicines and fake condoms.

The operation also targeted websites that were offering falsified, counterfeit and unlicensed medicines, forcing their closure or suspension by removal of their domain name or payment facility.

Specifically, the UK branch of the initiative resulted in 1,380 websites being closed down, 339 of which were domestic sites.

Alastair Jeffrey, head of enforcement at the MHRA, said: "Criminals involved in the illegal supply of medical products through the internet aren’t interested in your health – they are interested in your money."