Seizure of counterfeit drugs increases 702%

By ETCO

Source: Superávit - MG - NACIONAL - 23/08/2009

In the first half, 316 tons of counterfeit drugs were seized in the country, according to the Ministry of Justice. Remember, the number is 702% higher than that verified during 2008. The agency and the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) are primarily responsible for combating the sale of fake medicines, which is considered a heinous crime and can result in up to 15 years in prison.

According to the bodies' balance sheet, 38 operations were carried out this year in 108 establishments; 104 people were arrested in the act. A large part of the seized fake remedies are used to treat erectile dysfunction. Medicines generally come from countries like Paraguay and Bolivia.

The World Health Organization estimates that 10% of all medicine consumed in the world is counterfeit. The use of fake medicine can cause serious damage to health.


Anvisa's confirmation confirms the series of counterfeit Healing materials from the State of Minas / Correio Braziliense, which recently proved that Paraguayan traders are among the most important suppliers of counterfeit and unregistered medicines, using Foz do Iguaçu (PR) as a warehouse for distribution throughout Brazil.

According to what was found in the counterfeit Cure series, according to the Brazilian Association to Combat Piracy, Ciudad del Este, in Paraguay, is the major supplier of counterfeit medicines and unregistered medical equipment. A business that finds in 1 kilometers of borders - drought and clandestine ports on Lake Itaipu and Paraná River -, all the necessary facilities to prosper, according to the Brazilian authorities, who feel unable to close this extensive door.

Still according to the series of articles, unlike criminal organizations specialized in drug trafficking and the smuggling of imported goods, the illegal trade in medicines and medical equipment does not have a formal structure. In that case, the transportation scheme of other criminal groups is used to make their cruel business prosper, at zero cost. This slice of commerce does not have a large controller and can be snapped up by anyone, according to the head of the Federal Police Precinct, José Alberto Iegas0. Medicines like Pramil - the famous Paraguayan Viagra - are produced in backyard factories near Ciudad del Este, which can disappear in the blink of an eye and reopen elsewhere.

WARNING Responsible for controlling the sale of medicines and medical equipment in the country, Anvisa is also aware of the imposing Taiwan Industrial Park (PTI) installed just 20 kilometers from Ciudad del Este - the third largest free zone in the world, just behind Miami and Hong Kong -, which points out as a center for the assembly of imported equipment, among them the pressure device, which is in every corner of the Paraguayan city. (With agencies)