Policy/Enforcement News
Prominent Wisconsin Pharmacist Arrested on Counterfeit Drug Importation Charges
A Wisconsin pharmacist was recently arrested on charges that she imported and sold millions of pills of phony erectile dysfunction medication and other counterfeit drugs. Marla Ahlgrimm, who owns a number of businesses in Madison, Wisconsin, was arrested when she walked into her office while authorities were executing a search warrant, according to the Wisconsin…
[...]Counterfeit Drugs a Problem for the World’s Rich as Well as the Poor
Governments are stiffening regulations against fake drugs and conducting more aggressive raids, as anti-counterfeiting technologies improve and NGOs support anti-counterfeiting campaigns. Counterfeit medicine smugglers have not been as aggressively pursued by international law enforcement as heroin or cocaine smugglers , however governments are stiffening regulations against fake drugs and conducting more aggressive raids. Companies are…
[...]Nigerian Businessman Charged with Importing Counterfeit Drugs
Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) recently arraigned a businessman on charges of importing counterfeit drugs. Paulinus Ejike Onuorah was arrested in May by NAFDAC agents at Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Ikeja for allegedly bringing fake medicines into the country, reports the Nigerian Compass. One of the counts against the…
[...]NAFDAC Urges Pharmacy Owners to Reveal Source of Counterfeit Drugs
Officials from Nigeria’s National Agency for Food and Drug Administration (NAFDAC) are asking a number of pharmacies that were recently found to be selling counterfeit drugs to reveal the source of the fake medication. A special NAFDAC team from Lagos found 20 pharmaceutical and medicine shops in Yola, the capital of the Adamawa State, dealing…
[...]DEA Heads First-Ever Nationwide Prescription Drug Take-Back Day
The Drug Enforcement Administration and government, community, public health and law enforcement partners announced a nationwide prescription drug “Take-Back” initiative that seeks to prevent increased pill abuse and theft. DEA will be collecting potentially dangerous expired, unused, and unwanted prescription drugs for destruction at sites nationwide on Saturday, September 25 th from 10 a.m. to…
[...]Interpol Seizes 9 Tons of Counterfeit Drugs in East Africa
International authorities recently seized nine tons of counterfeit drugs from a number of East African nations. According to Interpol, 80 people were also arrested on suspicion of illegal trafficking in the two-month long operation that took place in Uganda, Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Zanzibar, reports CNN. The seized drugs included anti-malaria medication, vaccines and…
[...]Feds Crackdown on Online Pharmacies in Utah and Illinois
Federal authorities are beginning to crackdown on online pharmacies that distribute prescription drugs without prescriptions. Federal agents recently filed court papers in Illinois and Utah over two online pharmacies that are allegedly run by the same man, Kyle Rootsaert, according to CNN. The agents had obtained search warrant affidavits for the two pharmacies in Des…
[...]Stolen Carbatrol and Adderall XR – Check Lot Numbers
A pharmaceutical company recently alerted the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that some drugs taken during a 2008 pharmaceutical cargo theft may be beginning to reappear in the market. On October 17, 2008, a shipment of Carbatrol and Adderall XR made by Shire Pharmaceuticals was stolen en route between the company’s manufacturing facility in North…
[...]Countries Work to Secure Panama Canal from Terrorist Attacks, Counterfeit Shipments
Eighteen countries, including the U.S., recently participated in military maneuvers in Panama City, Panama to prepare for any potential terrorist act that could disrupt maritime traffic. Over the course of 12 days more than 2,000 civilian and military personnel took part in the exercises designed to protect the canal that handles 5 percent of all…
[...]Counterfeit Drug Arrest at Maine Festival
The Lewiston, Maine Sun Journal reported on August 17th, 2010 that twenty individuals from around the country were indicted by a grand jury for selling and possessing illegal and counterfeit drugs at the Nateva Music and Camping Festival last month. The four-day Nateva Festival, the first event in what is anticipated to be an annual…
[...]