Pangea X Interpol: Austria's great success also in the 10th year of the operation against pharmaceutical crime
Vienna (OTS) - The Ministry of Health and AGES Medizinmarktaufsicht/Federal Office for Safety in Health Care Austria, together with the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Finance, were again able to seize numerous illegal medicines this year and protect Austrian consumers from harm.
The operation took place in good cooperation with the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of the Interior: under the coordination of the Federal Criminal Police Office, the Provincial Criminal Police Offices in the provinces participated in the action. During the action period, several questionable international websites related to the illegal distribution of pharmaceuticals were identified and reported to Interpol for site closure. In addition, potentially related domestic addresses were checked. The intercepted narcotic-containing preparations and presumably counterfeit medicines were seized for further examination.
As in previous years, several customs departments, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the provincial criminal police offices, as well as the pharmaceutical authority (AGES Medizinmarktaufsicht/ Federal Office for Safety in Health Care) worked side by side. This year, the focus in Austria was on emerging distribution channels: The steadily growing trade on the Internet - and thus also the prohibited trade in illegal medicines - is increasingly resorting to alternative distribution organizations for distribution. In addition to "classic shipping" with the postal service, new parcel services such as GLS, UPS, DPD, DHL and Hermes are increasingly being used. Since up to now mainly the postal service has been intensively monitored by the customs authorities, illegal providers are increasingly switching to this alternative distribution channel.
Austria-wide controls at major shipping services
This year, the international operation PANGEA X against illegal drug trafficking in Austria therefore concentrated more on checking parcel shipments at large, alternative shipping services. To this end, extensive parcel checks were carried out at a total of nine locations throughout Austria.
During the focus action, which began at night and continued until dawn, several thousand parcels were checked by the more than 50 customs and police officers involved, as well as specially trained inspectors from the Medicines Agency, and examined on site using an X-ray bus. An international focus was also placed this year on the search for highly potent synthetic opioids, some of which are 120 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than Heron, and which are often life-threatening in layman's use.
"These substances, which are prescription and extremely potent painkillers normally used in pain management for the most severe cases, have also found their way into the drug scene through illegal channels. Here they are increasingly being abused. Some of the synthetic opioids are so potent that if investigators encounter this active ingredient in powder form, they expose themselves to a high risk, as inhaling the substance can lead to severe respiratory disturbances and even respiratory arrest or death," explains Christoph Baumgärtel from the Federal Office for Safety in Health Care, which is involved in the investigation. "Investigators must therefore take extensive precautionary measures themselves, such as the use of respiratory masks, in the event of a suspicion. Just 2 to 3 milligrams can have a lethal effect," the expert explains.
In the end, a total of 120 shipments with almost 4,700 tablets, vials and capsules of illegal drugs were found. Among them were the dangerous opiate derivatives and opioids that INTERPOL had recommended as this year's focus. In addition, 22 shipments of drugs (cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy, etc.), drug precursors, tens of thousands of cigarettes, liquids and accessories for e-cigarettes, prohibited weapons (switchblade and bayonet) and a possibly protected cultural property were also seized. All products were handed over to the appropriate laboratory services for further investigation and prosecution.
Operation Pangea conducted for the tenth time
Project Pangea I began in 2008 with eight participating countries. Over the years, the number of participants in the fight against pharmaceutical crime has expanded rapidly. In Austria, the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES)/Federal Office for Safety in Health Care, the Federal Criminal Police Office and the Austrian Customs jointly participated in the action in the fight against the sale of illegal medicines on the Internet. This year, the international action week was extended to the time frame of an entire month with additional operations.
Operation Pangea X took place this year from August 19 to September 19, 2017 - with the focus of the international week from September 12 to 19. In addition to the basic effort to safeguard public health, the operation also aims to seize counterfeit preparations, track down illegal manufacturers and distributors, and shut down criminal vendor homepages. This year, the focus was on Internet infrastructure, electronic payment systems and, in particular, delivery services. In addition, the project aims to make the public aware of the risks involved in buying medicines on the Internet.
Inquiries & Contact:
Federal Ministry of Health and Women MMag.a Kathrin Liener Press spokeswoman +43/1/71100-644511 kathrin.liener@bmgf.gv.at www.bmgf.gv.at Radetzkystraße 2, 1030 Vienna
AGES, Federal Agency for Safety in Health Care:Dr. Christoph BaumgärtelTel.: +43/1/(0)50555-36004christoph.baumgaertel@ages.atwww.basg.gv.at Federal Ministry of the Interior Mag. Andreas Großschartner Press Spokesman of the Federal Minister +43-(0)1-53126-2027 andreas.grossschartner@bmi.gv.at www.bmi.gv.at Federal Ministry of Finance, Press Office (+43 1) 514 33 501 030 or 501 031 bmf-presse@bmf.gv.at http://www.bmf.gv.at Johannesgasse 5, 1010 Vienna
