Health Canada Warns About Fake Online Drugs After Interpol Crackdown

Unapproved pregabalin medicines seized in Northern Ireland as part of Interpol’s Operation Pangea XVII operation. Interpol handput photo

Health Canada is warning Canadians about the risks of purchasing online drugs and health products, after an international operation targeting counterfeit medications resulted in the confiscation of more than 19,000 packages before they could enter the country.

The June 25 advisory comes the same day that the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) announced the seizure of 50.4 million doses of illicit pharmaceuticals worth more than $88 million as well as the arrests of 769 suspects, the largest seizure and arrest count in the organization’s history.

Dubbed Operation Pangea XVII, the five-month operation across 90 countries also led to the dismantling of 123 criminal groups worldwide, Interpol said in a press release.

Health Canada inspected 19,193 packages entering the country as part of the operation, preventing 7,096 from entering and confiscating an additional 539 at the border suspected of containing counterfeit or unauthorized health products valued at approximately $378,000.

Nearly 70 percent of the seized products were sexual enhancement medications and 10 percent were herbal and dietary supplements, Health Canada said. Smaller amounts of veterinary and antiparasitic drugs, hormones, antibiotics, and weight loss drugs were also seized.

Interpol director of organized and emerging crime David Caunter said fake and unapproved medications pose a serious risk to the public.

“They can include dangerous or illegal ingredients potentially resulting in severe illness, or even death,” Caunter said in the press release. “The rapid growth of online platforms has made it easier for these unsafe drugs to reach people as well as opening new opportunities for criminal networks to exploit.”

Aside from Canada, large seizures of illicit pharmaceuticals were similarly reported in Ireland, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States, among other countries.

Nervous system agents, including psychostimulants, anti-anxiety drugs, and medications for Parkinson’s disease, topped Interpol’s list as the most frequently seized drug across all countries, followed by medications for erectile dysfunction, which ranked second, the agency said.

Other frequently confiscated categories of products include anabolic steroids, anti-diabetic medicines, anti-smoking products, dermatological agents, health supplements, herbal products and psychotherapeutic agents, Interpol said.

Online Buying Risks

Health products available for purchase online might look like the real deal, but that doesn’t mean they have been officially approved for sale in Canada, the federal health agency said.

Unauthorized health products have not been assessed by Health Canada for safety, efficacy, or quality and could pose serious health risks as a result, the advisory said.

Drugs and supplements can come with a long list of problems from being fake, mislabelled, expired, or badly stored to being the subject of a recall. They might also lack active ingredients, contain incorrect ingredients, or include harmful additives like prescription medications that are not disclosed on the label, Health Canada said.

Unregulated medical devices, meanwhile, could be of inferior quality, may not operate properly, or could pose safety risks.

Health risks aside, buying products from pharmacies that aren’t regulated in Canada could be a financial risk.

“In some cases, the product may not be shipped at all,” Health Canada said. “Or, if it’s coming from another country, it could be stopped at the border by Canadian authorities.”

The advisory encourages Canadians to take measures to safeguard themselves, such as contacting the pharmacy regulatory authority in their respective province or territory to confirm if an online pharmacy is safe to order from. It also recommends consumers speak with a health-care professional if they have questions or concerns about a health care product.

Health Canada advises against purchasing from any site that offers prescription drugs without a prescription or offers to issue a prescription based on answers to an online questionnaire. It also advises against trusting in so-called miracle cures for any serious condition or purchasing products that do not have a drug identification number (DIN) issued by Health Canada.