This operation, carried out in 7 African countries, made it possible to seize 47 million tablets of potentially fatal fake drugs.
More than 420 tonnes of illicit drugs were seized by Interpol during an operation in West Africa called Heera. The participation of more than 1,150 police and customs officers was necessary to dismantle clandestine laboratories and distribution chains in Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo.
Actions were also carried out in markets, shops, pharmacies, as well as in warehouses and vehicles. They seized 47 million tablets of antibiotics, analgesics or antimalarial drugs and 13,000 boxes filled with illegal pharmaceutical products, such as vitamins and food supplements. A seizure worth 20 million euros. Some 150 people were also arrested.
“Operations like Heera not only protect people from potentially toxic substances, they also help dismantle networks that are often implicated in other crimes,” said Tim Morris, director of police services at Interpol.
700,000 deaths per year
A success made possible by the cooperation between Interpol services and the police forces of each African country. “In addition to the dismantling of these criminal networks, the operation plays a crucial role in warning the public of the risks of these fake drugs”, notes Oumar Aimé Toe, secretary general of the committee to fight against the trafficking of counterfeit drugs in Côte d’Ivoire .
Because the consequences of this traffic are unfortunately well known. Globally, 700,000 people die each year from these products. In 2013, the sale of fake antimalarials caused the death of more than 122,000 children under 5 on the African continent.
Deaths that do not prevent the trafficking of counterfeit drugs from making a profit. According to the International Anti-Counterfeit Medicines Research Institute (IRACM), it would be more lucrative than drug trafficking.
Find the program L’invité santé with Wilfrid Rogé
(Anti-counterfeit medicines research institute)
broadcast on June 22, 2016
.