INTERPOL and WHO's IMPACT drug anti-counterfeiting project Pangea II sees seizure of almost 167,000 illicit pills

An international week of action targeting the on-line sale of counterfeit and illicit medicines has highlighted the dangers of buying such products over the Internet. Due to an ever-increasing number of web sites supplying dangerous and illegal medicines, INTERPOL and the World Health Organization's International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce (IMPACT) last week coordinated 24 countries to launch Operation Pangea II.

The operation focused on the three principle components of an illegal web site, the Internet Service Provider (ISP), payment systems and the delivery service. Internationally, more than 16,000 packages were inspected by regulators and customs, resulting in the seizure of nearly 167,000 illicit and counterfeit pills. During the operation, Internet monitoring revealed 751 web sites to be engaged in illegal activity - including offering controlled or prescription-only drugs.

The countries involved in Operation Pangea II were Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, the UK and the USA.