
Spanish police said Tuesday they have detained 13 people suspected of selling large quantities of fake medication, including erectile dysfunction drugs and antibiotics, made in Asia over the Internet. The authorities seized nearly 420,000 fake pills during a search of 136 packages found in airmail and luggage in Spanish airports, police said in a statement. The fake medication included contraceptives, weight loss pills, vitamins, steroids, pain killers and Viagra, the statement added. The vast majority of the pills were made in China and India, but police also seized counterfeit medication from Malaysia, Colombia, Paraguay and the United States. Police gave no estimate for the value of the pills. "The main goal of the operation is to raise public awareness of the risks that buying medicine from irregular sources entails," police said in the statement. Spanish police gave international law enforcement agency Interpol the web addresses of 113 Internet sites that illegally distributed medicine. According to the European Alliance for Access to Safe Medicines, 62 percent of drugs bought on the Internet in 2011 were fake. The Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, a US non-profit medical research group, estimates the traffic in fake medicine generated 55 billion euros ($75 billion) globally in 2010, up 90 percent from 2005. In Europe, meanwhile, a study conducted by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer in 2010 showed that the market for fake drugs was worth around 10.5 billion euros.
GMT 10:31 2018 Tuesday ,13 November
Russian police uproot 70 underground drug labs in past six monthsGMT 16:32 2018 Tuesday ,06 November
Rwanda aims to achieve universal access to clean water by 2024GMT 16:57 2018 Sunday ,04 November
Palestinian women witness higher cure rate of breast cancerGMT 13:11 2018 Tuesday ,30 October
Emergency surgery saves life of touristGMT 10:44 2018 Tuesday ,23 October
Scientists find microplastics in human stool for first timeGMT 09:18 2018 Tuesday ,23 October
US judge upholds Monsanto weedkiller cancer verdict, reduces payoutGMT 14:22 2018 Friday ,19 October
Birth spacing ‘improving health of Omani women’GMT 15:40 2018 Monday ,15 October
Pakistani president launches nationwide anti-measles driveMaintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©
Send your comments
Your comment as a visitor