A global operation spanning 100 countries aimed at disrupting the organized crime networks behind the illicit online sale of medicines has resulted in some 80 arrests and the worldwide seizure of 3.75 million units of potentially life-threatening medicines worth US $10.5 million. Operation Pangea V, which involved police, customs and national regulatory authorities is the largest Internet-based action of its kind, targeting the international black market of fake and illicit medicines, and raising public awareness of the significant health risks associated with buying medicines online.
The effort was coordinated by INTERPOL, the World Customs Organization, the Permanent Forum of International Pharmaceutical Crime, the Heads of Medicines Agencies Working Group of Enforcement Officers, Pharmaceutical Security Institute and Europol. For the first time, Operation Pangea was also supported by the Center for Safe Internet Pharmacies (CSIP) which brings together 12 of the world’s leading Internet and e-commerce companies.