Triads target high street chemists as fake medicines racket moves up a gear

Published on Saturday 17 January 2009 18:32

SCOTTISH high-street chemists are being supplied with fake medicines peddled by Chinese and other crime gangs, Scotland on Sunday can reveal.

Senior law enforcement sources last night said counterfeit medicines were making it on to pharmacy shelves north of the border as triads and other groups sought to muscle in on the wholesale drug market.

Detectives said some of the fakes, which are packaged to look like the real product, were so good they were fooling pharmacists. One senior officer said: "I would defy anybody to spot some of these drugs as counterfeit unless they are put under a microscope."

Gangs, most supplied or controlled by triads, have been peddling fake medicines north of the border for years, usually using street dealers or the internet. Their favourite products have traditionally been drugs such as Viagra and Valium.

But law enforcement agencies across Europe have become increasingly concerned that organised crime groups are trying to get their drugs into mainstream markets, including chemist shops and hospitals. British border officials last year seized more than half a million counterfeit pills supposed to treat conditions such as heart disease and cancer, more than all the fake medicine brought to light in Europe in 2005.

Britain may have some of the toughest drug controls in the world, but getting fake drugs into the country from China – and sometimes India and Pakistan – is not too hard: only 0.1% of goods are checked by customs.

Insiders said the most commonly traded fakes in Scotland are impotence drugs Viagra and Cialis; cholesterol reducer Lipitor; slimming pill Reductil; anti-depressant Prozac; and Valium. However, sources stressed that even simple over-the-counter products like paracetamol could be faked.

Detectives said the trend to self-diagnose or self-prescribe was pushing people into the hands of internet dealers linked to organised crime. Pfizer, the maker of Viagra, is so concerned it launched a cinema ad campaign against counterfeit drugs this weekend. The campaign, backed by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, is aimed at men buying Viagra online.

Scottish sources last night also warned women to be vigilant. An under-the-counter product dubbed Lady or Pink Viagra, which falsely claims to improve a woman's love life, has been found in Scotland for the first time, they said.

Scotland's national drugs coordinator, Detective Superintendent Willie MacColl, said: "Counterfeit medicines pose a significant danger to individuals' health and indeed to communities as a whole. They contain impurities and are not manufactured to the required standard to protect public health."

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