Online sleeping tablet clampdown drives 40% fall in drug seizures

Seizures of falsified and other illegal medicines fell by almost 40 per cent last year as enforcement authorities clamped down on the import of sleeping tablets purchased on the internet.

However health officials have issued fresh warnings after a sharp rise in seizures of anabolic steroids, whose misuse has been linked to side-effects such as blood clots, headaches, depression, irritability and stomach pain. Anabolic steroids are commonly used in bodybuilding.

The number of anabolic steroids seized almost tripled from 38,000 in 2015 to 109,000 last year, according to the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA).

It warned consumers that there can be no guarantees about the quality or safety of prescription medicines sourced online.

HSE does not know if any senior staff were paid by drug companies

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“People are sourcing these products for purposes of performance enhancement and are either unaware of or ignoring the significant dangers posed by these prescription medicines in the absence of medical supervision,” said John Lynch, director of compliance. “We urge people to seek advice from their healthcare professional if they have any concerns about their health.”

A total of 674,000 dosage units of illegal drugs, mostly purchased on the internet, were seized last year, according to the Authority. This compares to 1.1 million units detained in 2015.

An average of 1,800 units of illegal medicines was detained each day last year, the figures indicate. This was mostly due to a big fall in the amount of sedatives found - down from 726,000 dosage units to 272,000.

Mr Lynch said the fall was probably due to better inter-agency cooperation, nationally and internationally, in combating the supply of Zopiclone and other sedatives into the Irish market.

The authority started six prosecutions during the year and issued 13 cautions in relation to slimming products, anabolic steroids and erectile dysfunction medicines.