Interpol Seizes 6.42 Million Fake Drug Doses Globally

Interpol announced Thursday that a global operation across 90 countries and territories seized 6.42 million doses of counterfeit and unapproved pharmaceuticals valued at $15.5 million, leading to 269 arrests and the dismantling of 66 criminal networks.

Known as Operation Pangea XVIII, the two-week effort from March 10 to 23 targeted illegal online sales of medicines. Authorities confiscated erectile dysfunction drugs, sedatives, analgesics, antibiotics and antismoking products most frequently. In the digital realm, enforcement actions disrupted about 5,700 criminal-linked websites, social media pages, channels and automated bots used to market and sell the illicit goods.

The United Kingdom recorded the largest seizures at 2.12 million doses, followed by Colombia with 1.47 million and Australia with 752,617. In the UK alone, over two million doses worth $4.6 million were intercepted, more than half classified as controlled drugs or prescription-only medicines, according to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.

Interpol highlighted emerging trends fueling the illegal trade. Antiparasitic drugs saw a sharp rise, promoted online as unproven cancer treatments and...