New York — In highly orchestrated raids around the world this week, Interpol officers in Europe, drug agents in the United States and task forces from Sweden to Singapore confiscated counterfeit prescription drugs in an attempt to stem a rapidly growing criminal business that preys on financially pressed consumers looking for bargains.
The operation, code-named Pangea, is an effort to fight back against fraudulent prescription drug businesses, which have become a $28-million industry in the United States alone.
The national crackdown uncovered nearly 800 packages of fake or suspicious prescription drugs, including Viagra, Vicodin, and Claritin, and shut down 68 rogue online pharmacies, authorities said. They said some counterfeit drugs may have as much as three times more of an active ingredient than is typically prescribed; others may be placebos. Drywall material, antifreeze and yellow highway paint have been found in counterfeit pills.
The operation is centered in a sprawling mail center at New York's Kennedy Airport where hundreds of packages of suspected fake medicines were dumped into orange bins, piled on skids and stacked high waiting to be examined by agents from numerous government agencies. Overseas, Interpol officers and task forces stormed suspected counterfeit drug warehouses and distribution centers.
"We don't know what's in here, actually," said federal agent Stephen Buzzeo as he inspected the pills. "All this is shady."
Counterfeit drugs are the latest -- and potentially most dangerous -- front in the long-running battle against intellectual-property crimes. Law enforcement officials said consumers typically think of counterfeited products such as fake Louis Vuitton purses or Nike sneakers. Although shoes are the most common phony product, accounting for 38%, or $102 million, of counterfeit products seized by customs officials last year, pharmaceuticals are one of the fastest-growing categories.
In 2007, they made up about 6% of total seizures. Last year, they accounted for 10% to become the third-largest category, with an estimated market value of $28 million. Federal officials say that trend is particularly disturbing because of the health dangers that such drugs present.
"The public safety part of intellectual property has really taken off in the last couple years and become the moving force," said John Morton, an assistant secretary of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which spearheaded the Pangea operation. "This is a huge problem."
