United Nations Focusing on Counterfeit Medicine Trade in West Africa

June 20, 2011

United Nations officials working with African government ministers and Interpol representatives pledged to fight drug trafficking and organized crime, focusing on counterfeit medicine production and trade throughout West Africa, in Dakar on June 20, 2011. The inaugural session of the High-Level Policy Committee of the West Africa Coast Initiative was filled with discussion about how…

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Conspirators Sell Counterfeit Medicine Over Email and Craigslist

June 16, 2011

A Maryland man has been implicated as an alleged partner to the Waldorf woman arrested for allegedly selling counterfeit medication out of her house. 34 year old Dwayne Skiles was charged with trafficking in counterfeit goods according to an unsealed complaint, reports The Washington Examiner. According to the complaint issued by the District Court of…

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Fake Doctor and Counterfeit Medicine Hawkers Arrested in Nigeria

June 15, 2011

In Nigeria, a 40 year old fake Cameroonian doctor has been arrested administering counterfeit medication to patients in a local hospital, and 400 people have been implicated in a N70 million conspiracy to sell counterfeit drugs. The supposed doctor, Kweken Allen Blaise, from Cameroon, collaborated with Yahaya Jidda, from Taraba State, confessed to smuggling fake…

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Bahrain Customs Go After Online Drugs

June 15, 2011

Bahrain’s customs officers are now strictly screening medications delivered via the mail to Bahrain residents. The Health Ministry pharmacy and drug control director Sahar Al Qahtani said that they are cracking down on potentially harmful counterfeit drugs and herbal remedies not licensed for use in Bahrain. Recipients of medication packages are now brought in for…

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Cloud Based Technology Stops Drug Counterfeiters and Malaria

June 14, 2011

Cloud based technologies have been implemented in two new initiatives to help improve health in Africa, a mobile phone based system to collect malaria data in Botswana, and a counterfeit medicine detection service in Ghana and Nigeria. The malaria data collection service is run by a Botswana-based nonprofit, Positive Innovation for the New Generation (PING).…

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Qatar Drafts Counterfeit Drug Law

June 14, 2011

Qatar is working on the first counterfeit drug law in country, announced the Qatar’s Supreme Council of Health’s Pharmacy and Drug Control Department (PDCD). PDCD director, Dr Aisha Ebrahim Al Ansari, said that the law is currently being reviewed and will be adopted and submitted to higher authorities for approval, reports The Gulf News. “The…

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Online Pharmacy Owner Sentenced to 7 Years in Fake Drug Distribution Conspiracy

June 13, 2011

An online pharmacy owner, operating out of Texas, was sentenced to seven years in federal prison for trafficking and attempting to traffic in counterfeit medicine, specifically fake versions of the pharmaceutical weight loss drug known as Alli that contained a dangerous substitute ingredient that caused stroke in one victim. The U.S. Department of Justice issued…

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Egyptian Counterfeit Drugs Up 20%

June 13, 2011

Egyptian officials say local counterfeit drug trade including life saving medications has peaked in a year with an estimation of LE 1billion. Al-Gomhuriya reports that experts are predicting a 10% growth in the counterfeit medicine market for 2010. Local pharmacists are concerned saying, “The sale of counterfeit medical drugs has risen.” Abdul Aziz Hanafi, a…

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Americans Using Fake Medicine Endanger Their Lives and Risk Involvement with Criminals

June 7, 2011

Every day Americans go to Tijuana, Mexico to buy prescription drugs at discounted prices, despite US state department warnings that criminals impersonating Mexican authorities have detained US citizens with legitimate prescriptions and demanded large bribes. 25% of the prescription medications available in Mexico are fake or substandard, estimates US authorities, reports CNN. Counterfeit medications are…

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