115 countries participated: Action against illegal sale of medicines also conducted in BiH

At the initiative of the INTERPOL General Secretariat in Lyon, from 09.06. to 15.06.2015, an operational action called ''PANGEA VIII'' was conducted, in which 115 INTERPOL member countries participated, reports the Patria news agency.

The operation aimed to intensify activities in the fight against the illegal sale of medicines via the internet and sales at other locations suspected of being used for the illegal sale of unauthorized and counterfeit medicines and medical devices.

As a result of the seven previously conducted ''PANGEA'' operations over the past seven years, a significant number of seizures were made, many websites were shut down, and around 500 individuals were subject to investigation, deprived of liberty, or reported to judicial authorities.

Goods worth approximately 30 million EUR were seized. Given the significant profit from the sale of counterfeit medicines, criminal organizations have recognized this type of activity and invested even more to achieve even greater profits. Namely, counterfeit medicines are 25 times more profitable than heroin trafficking and 5 times more profitable than cigarette trafficking.

In 2015, a total of 115 countries participated in the operational action aimed at combating this type of crime, resulting in 429 investigations launched worldwide, 2,414 websites shut down, and 550 advertisements for the sale of counterfeit medicines online removed.

In the territory of BiH, the operation was conducted in cooperation with the competent agencies: the Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH, within which the NCB INTERPOL Sarajevo served as the contact point for the operation, the Prosecutor's Office of BiH, SIPA, the Border Police of BiH, the Indirect Taxation Authority of BiH, the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH, the Anti-Doping Control Agency of BiH, the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs, the Inspectorate of the Republika Srpska, the Inspectorate of the Government of Brčko District, the Police of Brčko District, the Ministry of Interior of Canton 10, the Ministry of Interior of Tuzla Canton, the Ministry of Interior of Central Bosnia Canton, the Ministry of Interior of Bosnian-Podrinje Canton, the Ministry of Interior of Posavina Canton, the Ministry of Interior of Zenica-Doboj Canton, the Ministry of Interior of Sarajevo Canton, and the Ministry of Interior of Una-Sana Canton.

Through the work of the competent law enforcement agencies in the past period, certain goals of the PANGEA operation were achieved, particularly in terms of raising public awareness about the problem of selling illegal medicines and medical devices via the internet and beyond, and improving cooperation between law enforcement agencies (customs, police), prosecutor's offices, the Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices of BiH, the Anti-Doping Control Agency of BiH, and others.

The Directorate for Coordination of Police Bodies of BiH thanks all institutions in BiH whose members participated in the preparation and implementation of this operational action, and emphasizes its readiness to continuously undertake further measures and actions within its competence to combat criminal offenses and misdemeanors in this area of crime, the DKPT stated.