By Redaction ARPS Media with INTERPOL
INTERPOL, from December 2024 to May 2025, conducted a global operation, Operation Pangea, resulting in the arrest of 769 individuals and the seizure of illegal medicines worth USD 65 million.
This operation, which took place between December 2024 and May 2025, resulted in the confiscation of 50.4 million doses and the dismantling of 123 criminal gangs.
The majority of the illegal products included anti-anxiety drugs, Parkinson’s medications, and erectile dysfunction medicines, with 93% lacking health authority approval.
David Caunter from INTERPOL highlighted the risks posed by counterfeit medicines, especially in Africa, where fake drugs lead to nearly 500,000 deaths annually.
The operation spanned 90 countries, including 18 in Africa (i.e., Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Togo, and Zimbabwe).
It aimed to address the challenges of detecting and controlling the trafficking of these unsafe medical products in a rapidly evolving online marketplace.
Read original report at: Record 769 arrests and USD 65 million in illicit pharmaceuticals seized in global bust
