A QUARTER of the black market medicines and prescription drugs seized in a co-ordinated operation across 45 countries was seized in the Republic, the international policing agency Interpol has revealed.
The total value of the haul was €2 million, with the Republic accounting for €500,000.
The investigation, Operation Pangea III, targeted websites illegally selling prescription and counterfeit medicines and other drugs and was conducted across the 45 participating states between October 5th and October 12th.
Most of the Irish seizures were made at premises in Dublin or involved the searching of parcels at post depots as the items entered the State.
The drugs included weight loss and erectile dysfunction pills, mood stabilisers, antibiotics, hormones, steroids, cardiac and anti-cholesterol medicines, pain killers, anti-depressants, cancer medication and insulin.
Their sale via websites is illegal. Much of the medication seized is also of unknown origin and is suspected of being manufactured in back-street laboratories with no quality control.
The international investigation focused on the internet service providers hosting the illegal websites and the payment card systems and delivery services used by the sites.
Intelligence was gathered that identified the locations where the illegal drugs were being stored, the times when new drugs were due to enter the State and the suspects behind the operations.
The Irish Medicines Board, which led the Irish element of the operation, said the substances seized represented a serious threat to public health. Chief executive Pat O’Mahony said the websites through which the products were being sold appeared professional and genuine.
“The reality is they are an elaborate and potentially dangerous deception. You have no way of knowing what these medicines really contain, where they were made or the effect they might have on your health.”
The medicines board, which licenses medicines and medical devices, worked with Revenue’s Customs service and the Garda on the operation here.
Drugs were seized in Dublin and Cork, including warehouses and in the postal system. Other seizures were found in the homes of people identified via Garda intelligence as being involved in the illegal trade here. Stashes of drugs were hidden in the attics, kitchens and bedrooms of houses.
One seizure was made in a retail outlet. The seizures here were valued between €200 and €100,000. A total of 262,000 tablets and capsules were found here valued at €500,000.
Internationally, 267,855 packages were seized containing just over a million tablets, leading to numerous arrests.
One person was arrested in Dublin and others were interviewed without being arrested. A number of computers were confiscated by gardaí and five Irish websites were closed. It is anticipated criminal charges will follow here.
The main drugs found were mood stabilisers such as diazepam and products for erectile dysfunction. Large quantities of weight loss products containing banned sibutramine were also found.
DRUG RAID OPERATION PANGEA:OPERATION PANGEA was first staged in 2008. It is co-ordinated by Interpol and the World Health Organisation's international medical products anti- counterfeiting taskforce. Its aim is to target websites operating in, or selling into, countries participating in the operation. The authorities gather intelligence on websites illegally selling drugs that should only be available on prescription, banned substances or dubious and possibly dangerous products claiming weight loss or relaxant properties. Suspect properties are raided, drugs are seized and suspects arrested. When first carried out in 2008, it involved eight countries, including the Republic. Operation Pangea II last November involved 24 countries. ÉANNA Ó CAOLLAÍ