Interpol seizes erectile dysfunction and anti-anxiety medication
Erectile dysfunction and anti-anxiety medication were among the most common illegal pharmaceuticals seized by Interpol in a cluster of raids spanning 90 countries.
Investigators retrieved £47 million worth of counterfeit or illegal medication as part of an operation codenamed Pangea XVII.
From December 2024 to May, police arrested 769 suspected drug traffickers and dismantled 123 criminal gangs.
Psychostimulants, anti-anxiety drugs and medications for Parkinson's disease topped the list as the most seized product type. Erectile dysfunction medicines were the second highest.
In Britain, drugs seized included painkillers, antidepressants and sleeping pills.
Australia recorded the largest seizures globally, with psychostimulants (drugs used to treat sleepiness) modafinil and armodafinil being the most common.
This was followed by anti-smoking nicotine pouches and erectile dysfunction medicines.
Ozempic -style weight loss drugs, such as semaglutide, and peptides used for bodybuilding and cosmetic enhancements were also seized in huge quantities.
The ease of purchasing these drugs either via social media or from online marketplaces are making them rapidly grow in popularity.
A single semaglutide pen may sell for several hundred US dollars on the black market, Interpol said.
About 13,000 criminal-linked websites, social media pages, channels and bots used to market and sell illegal or falsified medicines have been shut down
Criminal networks now view these drugs as 'lucrative and relatively low-risk opportunities' for selling poor quality or counterfeit products.
Law enforcement agencies launched 1,728 investigations and issued 847 search warrants targeting criminal networks.
Some 93 per cent of the illicit pharmaceuticals seized lacked regulatory approvals from national health authorities.
The remaining 7 per cent were confirmed as either counterfeit, diverted, or misbranded products.
Malaysia removed the greatest number of online listings (7,000), followed by Russia, Ireland, Singapore and Iran.
The five countries collectively accounted for 96 per cent of all listings taken down.
In Burkina Faso, 816,000 tablets including analgesics and anti-inflammatories were discovered hidden in vehicles.
Mexican authorities intercepted benzodiazepine drugs including 27,000 clonazepam tablets and 20,000 alprazolam tablets passing through a courier facility in Tijuana.
In Portugal, anabolic steroids were discovered in eight prisons across the country, unveiling evidence of a criminal network smuggling illicit substances into correctional facilities.
'Serious risk to public health'
David Caunter, director pro tempore of organised and emerging crime at Interpol, said: 'Fake and unapproved medications are a serious risk to public health. They can include dangerous or illegal ingredients potentially resulting in severe illness, or even death
'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.
'Working together through Operation Pangea, countries are taking action to protect people's health and keep healthcare systems safe.'
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