BEIJING, CHINA: Police have seized 2 billion yuan ($315 million) worth of phoney pharmaceuticals and package materials in a national raid on counterfeit drugs, ministry of public security, China said on Thursday.
Police arrested 1,770 suspects and captured more than 420 million sets of counterfeit trademarks, packages and fake-proof labels during the raid, the statement mentioned. They have broken up more than 1,400 dens that produced or sold fake medicine during the raid that was jointly conducted by more than 16,000 police in 29 provincial-level regions.
The suspects were found to have used banned chemicals as ingredients for bogus medicine, re-packaged expired pharmaceutical, and forge qualification papers, the ministry said, citing the police investigation. The fake drug producers have copied health care medicine, prescription drugs, oral tablets and injections from more than 100 domestic and overseas drug producers.
Consumption of the drugs may lead to osteoporosis, diabetes, gastric ulcer or duodenal ulcer. Some of the fake drugs may damage the kidney or liver, according to the ministry. Most of the fake drugs were sold online or to illegal pharmacies or clinics, said the statement.
Thursday’s operation is the latest high-profile mission launched by the ministry against counterfeit medicine. On November 4, the ministry said it seized more than 65 million imitation medicinal tablets and arrested 114 suspects in a cross-provincial raid on counterfeit drugs.
(C) Xinhua News