Source: Folha de Pernambuco - Recife / PE - 22/09/2010

RENATA COUTINHO

 Some of the drugs would have Paraguayan origin, according to Apevisa

One of the largest operations in the country to curb the sale of illegal drugs and irregularities was completed yesterday. More than 200 thousand boxes of medicines and R $ 130 thousand were seized. Among the municipalities inspected by Operation Salute were Serra Talhada, Salgueiro and Ouricuri, in the Sertão.

Outside the state, the city of Penaforte, in Ceará, was also investigated. Twenty federal police officers, 20 inspectors from the Pernambuco Health Surveillance Agency (Apevisa) and five from the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa) participated in the action.

Among the criminal practices verified were the clandestine sale of prescription drugs and the sale of unregistered drugs at Anvisa. Some of the products were of unknown origin, an indication of contraband. According to federal delegate Cristiano Oliveira, the investigations began about six months ago and started with complaints from the population. The operation was launched on the 13th with the arrest of two people in the city of Ceará. In the following days, another 13 people were arrested in flagrante in the cities of Pernambuco. Of these, the majority obtained provisional release. Ten pharmacies that made irregular sales were banned. According to the director of Apevisa, Jayme Brito, these establishments are subject to the payment of a fine ranging between R $ 2 thousand and R $ 1,5 million, in addition to final closure.

The seizure of medicines carried out by Operation Salute was the highest in the last three years, according to Anvisa. Among the unregistered remedies found, the director of Apevisa highlighted misoprostol (Cytotec), Pramil (imitation of Viagra) and Lucitan (diazepan). The first drug is used for gastro-duodenal ulcers, but with widespread abortion use. Therefore, its commercialization is prohibited in pharmacies all over the country. "As this prohibition exists, Anvisa believes that Cytotec is being falsified in Paraguay and brought here", revealed Jayme Brito. It is also from Paraguay that another remedy found on a large scale by the operation in the interior comes: Pramil. “We found him in almost all pharmacies in the cities, including a distributor,” said Brito. The drug is very popular in the Latin country to treat erectile dysfunction, but it is not registered in Brazil. There were also several boxes of Lucitan (diazepan), a tranquilizer with a controlled sale, which was produced by the laboratory of Pharu from Caruaru, which was recently banned.