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47 people arrested in 15 provinces for the import, handling and sale of medicines without health control

Joint operation between the Tax Agency, the National Police and the Civil Guard against illegal drug trafficking

  • They imported large quantities of drugs such as Tadalafil and Sildenafil, active ingredients diagnosed for the treatment of erectile dysfunction, from Malaysia, passing them off as natural food products.
  • The leader of this criminal group has been arrested in Dubai, the city where he was hiding with three international arrest warrants in force.
  • 12 house searches and 55 inspections of premises selling these types of products were carried out, and 59 websites and 39 bank accounts were blocked.
  • The products, once processed in our country, were destined for sale in places such as gyms, herbalists and sex shops, and also through the Internet.

  

February 25, 2020 .- Members of the Tax Agency, the National Police and the Civil Guard have jointly carried out the first phase of a major operation against the illegal trafficking of medicines, in which 47 people have been arrested, all of Spanish nationality, except one Portuguese subject, in provinces such as Madrid, Alicante, Gerona, Barcelona, Tarragona, Valencia, Almería, Jaén, Granada, Seville, Málaga, León, Salamanca, Valladolid and the Canary Islands, who are charged with crimes against public health, belonging to a criminal organization, fraud, smuggling and money laundering.

The leader of this criminal organisation, the Spanish citizen ADG, has been arrested in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), from where he directed it, while hiding with three international arrest warrants in force for different crimes, all thanks to the rapid coordination of the Spanish Interior Attaché and the Emirati authorities, which has allowed his immediate extradition.

The investigation began more than a year ago, following the collaboration of citizens through an anonymous complaint, after which various customs shipments from Malaysia that could contain active ingredients of medicines without being declared as such began to be followed.

Tadalafil and Sildenafil as dietary supplements

This criminal organisation imported drugs in large quantities from Malaysia, always falsely declared as food supplements and natural plants to avoid customs controls and later marketed as 100% natural stimulants, when in reality they were, as has been confirmed in various analyses, powerful drugs such as Tadalafil and Sildenafil, vasodilators intended for the treatment of erectile dysfunction.

The ingestion of these products without medical supervision can cause myocardial infarction, unstable angina, ventricular arrhythmia, palpitations, tachycardia, stroke and even sudden death.

In view of the results of these analyses, the Spanish Medicines Agency has withdrawn from the market certain products declared as 'natural', whose content did not correspond to their composition and could be highly dangerous for the health of consumers.

The leaders of this organization, fully aware of the effects of these products due to customer complaints and the continuous withdrawals from the market by the Spanish Agency for Medicines and Health Products, limited themselves to changing the commercial names and packaging, continuing with their distribution and sale in a wide network of establishments such as herbalists, sex shops and gyms, and also on the Internet. Among the brands involved there are 150 different presentations.

500,000 euros in cash and 59 websites hacked

Overall, this first phase of the operation has resulted in actions in 15 provinces, including 12 house searches and 55 inspections of premises and warehouses, which have led to the seizure of more than 500,000 euros in cash, 39 current accounts – two of them abroad –, seven high-end vehicles valued at more than 300,000 euros and two firearms.

59 websites dedicated to the sale of this type of product were also blocked, and investigators confirmed that this type of product was supplied to the entire national territory, as well as to countries such as Portugal, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Russia.

More than 200,000 boxes or packages of different presentations have also been seized, all of them with names and inscriptions relating to 100% natural products, as well as 400,000 capsules of products awaiting analysis and several labelling machines.

More than 400 officials and agents

It is worth highlighting the close collaboration of the investigators from the three police forces (National Police, Civil Guard and Customs Surveillance of the Tax Agency), in which more than 400 officials and agents from the three participating forces have finally participated, coordinated by the Court of Instruction number 8 of Alicante.

Operation filming (to download the videos, enter the following web address): 

https://we.tl/t-kswN6YO45F