ROME (ITALPRESS) – The Carabinieri Health Protection Command (NAS) and the Customs and Monopolies Agency have
concluded “SHIELD V,” which stands for Safe Health Implementation, Enforcement and Legal Development, a vast international operation aimed at combating pharmaceutical crime and protecting health.
The operation was developed from April to November 2024 under the direction of Eueopol and with the participation of 30 EU and non-EU member states, as well as several international organizations such as the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), reiterating the organizational pattern of coordination,
cooperation and information exchange among member states positively tested in previous editions.
The joint action comprehensively addressed the phenomenon of so-called pharma crime, understood as counterfeiting, diversion from the legal supply chain, theft, and illicit trafficking, by carrying out targeted actions on doping, medicines, and pharmacological active ingredients.
Seized about 125,000 units of drugs, including those with doping action, at major postal and courier sorting hubs on the Italian territory.
The results achieved by the various articulations of the Health Protection Units on the national territory were substantiated by
in the execution of 967 inspection and control activities, with the opening of 11 investigative activities, for a total
of 138 subjects reported to the Judicial Authority and 23 arrests; discovered 1 clandestine laboratory and dismantled 2 criminal groups.
Substantial seizures of drugs and doping substances of different types, supplements as well as devices
medical devices and products of various kinds: more than 8,800 packages and about 95,000 posological units of drugs in different pharmaceutical forms (tablets, vials, injectables, powders), containing active ingredients of various therapeutic indications, mainly attributable to anabolic, slimming, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and erectile dysfunction drugs, The commercial value of all seizures reaches the figure of more than 2.6 million euros.
Peculiar area of investigation concerns the fight against the phenomenon of doping both in the sphere of sports activities
amateur and professional. Anti-doping investigative inspectors, present in all NAS located throughout the entire
national territory and specially trained for the specific activity, carried out 47 doping checks,
both “in” (40) and “out” (7) competitions, which resulted in the testing of 161 athletes of whom 4 tested positive. The activity made use of the collaboration of Nado Italia, in light of the agreement signed with the Carabinieri Command for the Protection of Health. Also relevant was the activity of obscuring 286 websites of illegal sales of counterfeit drugs, through administrative measures of the Ministry of Health aimed at protecting public health by preventing access to dangerous sites.
Overall1 the “SHIELD V” Operation, conducted in the territories of the various adhering countries, made it possible to identify 4 clandestine laboratories and conduct investigations of 52 criminal organizations; seize thousands of medicines, raw materials and doping products of various kinds, totaling more than 4,800,000 million units, in various pharmaceutical forms, with quantities amounting to 108 liters and more than 400,000 kilograms and a commercial value of 11.1 million euros; refer 418 subjects to the competent judicial authorities. Anti-doping activity, on the other hand, took the form of about 4,000 checks on athletes, between “in” and “out” competitio.
– Photo: nas press office –
(ITALPRESS).
