BRIEF—UK seizes more than £2 million of fake medicines

A crackdown on fake medicines and medical devices by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has netted a haul of more than 1 million doses worth in excess of £2 million ($2.6 million).

The seizures were part of Interpol’s globally-coordinated Operation Pangea initiative involving 116 countries.

Between October 9 and 17, the MHRA and UK partners found falsified and unlicensed medicines and medical devices in the UK including diazepam, modafinil and dermal fillers.

Using intelligence, MHRA enforcement officers raided a semi-detached property and a small lock-up unit in connection with the illegal supply online of potentially harmful medicines.

This led to one arrest.

Raids on the properties in the north of England involved local police and forms part of an international response coordinated through Interpol to the growing illegal trading in online medicines and medical devices.

Worldwide, Operation Pangea led to 859 arrests and yielded items worth in the region of £10.9 million.