Record Seizure of drugs serves as a warning to consumers
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
Brasília, 14/04/09 (MJ) - More than 170 tons of medicines produced and sold illegally seized in the first three months of the year in Brazil. The record was made on Tuesday (14) by the President of the National Council to Combat Piracy (CNCP) the Ministry of Justice, Luiz Paulo Barreto, and President of the National Health Surveillance Agency (Anvisa), Dirceu Raposo. Throughout the year 2008, the number reached 20 tonnes.
What worries the government is that unregistered medicines or fake being sold not only by street vendors or the Internet, but also by pharmacies operating in the country legally.
"Piracy has been considered by Interpol as the evil of the century and one of its most perverse is the counterfeiting of medicines," said the president of CNPC. "We have to step up surveillance mainly in pharmacies, where consumers feel secure to make the purchase.
In Brazil, there are 70 thousand pharmacies. The high competitiveness is one of the factors that lead entrepreneurs to sell products illegally to ensure profitability. Therefore, consumers should be aware. "Price too low can be a sign that the product is not unique," he said Barreto.
Seizure
From January to March, 15 operations were performed jointly by the Federal Police (PF), Federal Highway Police (PRF) and Anvisa. In all, 57 people were arrested. Counterfeit medicine is a heinous crime and the penalty ranges from 10 to 15 years in prison.
According to authorities, this result was only possible because of a technical cooperation agreement signed between the Ministry of Justice and Anvisa, allowing increased efforts to combat the illegal sale of drugs in the country.
Most of the pirated drugs comes from Paraguay and Bolivia. Among them, there are products to treat serious diseases like cancer and diabetes. "We have not identified plants in Brazil counterfeiters. These copies are found harmless and toxic substances that can cause serious damage to health, "warned the president of Anvisa, Dirceu Raposo.
Source: Ministry of Justice
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
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