81 nations took part in the sweeping raid

In what can only be described as a dramatic and exciting intervention, Interpol arrested ringleaders of dangerous and counterfeit illegal medication criminal organizations and seized millions of tablets said to be worth in excess of £4 million.

The carefully planned operation code named Operation Pangea IV which took place last week involved not only Interpol but also the International Medical Products Anti-Counterfeiting Taskforce, national police forces, customs agencies and national medicines regulatory agencies. In all 81 nations took part in the sweeping raid which also involved Internet Service Providers, credit card processors and postal delivery services. Operation Pangea IV netted more than twice the amount of illegal medications compared to last year's Operation Pangea III.

Interpol put out a statement saying that they were determined to stop the online criminal networks from selling fake medicines online which included stopping the associated credit card fraud. They also said that they wanted to increase public awareness of the huge health risks associated with purchasing certain types of medications online.

Interpol said that they shut down around 13,500 websites, seized 8,000 packages containing 2.4m tablets and identified 48 nations as being the source of the illegal drugs. As well as fake versions of erectile dysfunction medication there were also fake antibiotics and cancer drugs found. Interpol are currently questioning 55 suspects.

Ms. Aline Plancon speaking on behalf of Medical Products Counterfeiting and Pharmaceutical Crime unit which forms part of Interpol said that the only way to stop the supply of these dangerous and illegal medications was to involve all the different players from manufacturers to delivery. She also said that people needed to be extremely cautious about purchasing medications online.  At Ukmedix it is possible to verify the authenticity of your medication using the Pharmacheck system.

In the UK the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) managed to seize £2m of fake medicine and arrested thirteen people as part of Operation Pangea IV. The MHRA said that if you didn't know exactly from which pharmacy your medicine was coming from you could not verify whether it was safe or effective.

Fake medications kill!  Get a prescription!