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June 9, 2021 Interpol operation against the marketing of illegal or falsified drugs and medical devices sold online.
The 14th edition of the Pangea operation took place from 18 to 25 May and led, globally, to the closure of 113,000 illegal websites, to the arrest of a considerable number of people involved in the trafficking of medicines potentially harmful to the health and the seizure of 9,089,549 drugs / medical devices.
55 countries participated worldwide. Operation 55 countries, drugs seized and online sites closed
The operation made it possible to identify emerging trends, such as illegal shipments of drugs from Singapore, and shipments of traditional Chinese medicine drugs used for the treatment of Covid-19, presumably destined for Asian communities residing in Italy. In the pangea operation, the control activity focused in particular on drugs related to the treatment of covid-19, "allowing - reads an AIFA note - to identify and block medicines that do not represent a real cure for patients affected by the virus and instead expose them to serious risks to their health ".
Over the course of the week of action, approximately 30,000 units of illegal and falsified drugs, for an estimated value of approximately 100,000 euros. The interpol operation was coordinated for Italy by the International Police Cooperation Service of the Central Criminal Police Directorate. The control activities were carried out at the major airport hubs of express couriers and post offices. Joint checks were carried out in the hubs by "mixed teams" made up of adm and military personnel from the Nas carabinieri nuclei, assisted by the investigations office of the Adm Anti-fraud Directorate and the Carabinieri-Nas Aifa team, with the support of the agency Italian drug.