UK Man Sentenced for Distribution of Counterfeit Anti-Anxiety and ED Drugs

Yesterday, Mr Harish Gami, a 41-year old man, was sentenced in Aylesbury Crown Court, to 8 months jail time suspended for 2 years for distributing unlicensed and counterfeit drugs.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) investigation uncovered over 100,000 dosages of medicine including controlled drugs (benzodiazepine derivatives) used for anxiety, insominia, seizures and muscle relaxants. The controlled drugs seized were Valium, Diazepam, Alpazolam, Clonazepam, Temazepam, Lorazepam and Zolpidem.

There was also counterfeit Viagra, Levitra and Cialis uncovered as part of the operation as well as the unlicensed erectile dysfunction drug Kamagra.

The fake drugs were presumably shipped from Pakistan and then stored in plastic baggies in plastic bins underneath the accused stairwell with the intent to distribute them on the internet.

MHRA Head of Enforcement, Mick Deats, said that successful prosecutions such as this send a clear signal to those contemplating the sale and supply of counterfeit medicines.

"The MHRA strongly advises people against buying medicines online from unregulated websites where the risk of being provided with a dangerous product is greatly increased."

To view more on the sentencing, visit: www.pharmaceuticalonline.com.

Daily Times: Government to Investigate Reports of Counterfeit Drugs Supplied to Hospitals

Pakistan’s Daily Times reported on September 12th about the Senate Standing Committee on Health’s concern over reports of counterfeit medications being supplied to Pakistan’s government hospitals. The Committee has called for a full report from Director General Rasheed Jumma on this issue.

Also mentioned by the Senate Committee was their concern over the importation of over 1,000 Chinese medicines, including critical lifesaving medications and their direction to the Health Ministry for a complete review of their imported medicines’ registration.

To view the entire Daily Times story, link to: http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\09\12\story_12-9-2009_pg11_6

Daily Times: 9 Clinics and 28 Drug Stores Shut Down for Counterfeit Drugs

In the September 2nd edition, the Pakistan Daily Times reports on Inspectors shutting down clinics in Pakistan for Counterfeit Drugs. Here are some of the highlights:

• On September 1, Pakistani drug inspectors in Rawal and in Potohar raided clinics and pharmacies, sealing nine clinics and fining 28 medical stores for sale of expired and unregistered medicines.


• Inspectors took 106 samples from these locations and submitted them for laboratory testing.

To read the story online, follow this link:
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2009\09\02\story_2-9-2009_pg11_4

To learn more about XStream Systems and their revolutionary anti-counterfeiting technology, visit: www.xstreamsystems.net.

SafeMeds Weekly: Counterfeit Drug Sentencing Less Than Adequate

In an opinion piece posted on SafeMeds Weekly on August 10, 2009, Marvin D. Shepherd, PhD discusses the issue of light sentencing given to those convicted of counterfeiting medications around the globe. Dr. Shepherd asserts that inadequate sentencing “undermines the seriousness and true threat that counterfeit drugs pose to society and public health.”

Dr. Shepherd sites several examples:

• After nearly two years under investigation, the final sentence for running an international multi-million pound counterfeit medication operation was issued in the United Kingdom. The first four convictions were made in September 2007 and on July 6, the final member of the operation received a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years, for masterminding an industrial scale conspiracy of supplying counterfeit drugs between 2002 and 2005. In total, the seven convicted members of this international counterfeit drug ring received a combined 17.5 years imprisonment-an average of 2.5 years for each participant-for their part in the U.K. distribution arm of a global ring operating from China, India and Pakistan, extending to the Caribbean and the United States.


• In March 2009, an Arizona couple received at most eight years imprisonment for running an illegal drug business netting more than $2.5 million from 2004 to 2006. In comparison, convicted members of an illegal recreational drug ring would receive mandatory minimum sentences starting at 20 years up to life imprisonment for distribution in the United States.

In this article Dr. Shepherd questions the logic of not holding those responsible for the distribution and sale of counterfeit drugs to the same severity to those who commit similar offenses with illicit drugs. Basically he believes that until this is done the individuals and organizations responsible for this very real threat will continue to flourish.

XStream Systems favors stricter and more stringent enforcement and criminal penalties across the globe for those convicted of manufacturing, distributing or selling counterfeit or adulterated medications. XStream also encourages those within the pharmaceutical supply chain to screen and test their inventories with solutions such as XStream’s XT250 which allows the user to test and authenticate product inside its sealed container without destroying product or opening the container. The XT250 is designed to be deployed and used within the supply chain onsite and does not require technical resources to operate.

To read the opinion piece and to learn more about SafeMeds Weekly, visit their site at www.safemedicines.org.

To learn more about XStream Systems, XT250, visit us at www.xstreamsystems.net.