The Carabinieri Nas and the Customs and Monopolies Agency have completed a vast international operation aimed at combating pharmaceutical crime and protecting health. The operation, called “Shield V” (an acronym for Safe Health Implementation, Enforcement and Legal Development), was developed from April to November 2024 under the direction of Eueopol and with the participation of 30 EU and non-EU member countries, as well as several international organizations such as the European Union Intellectual Property Office, the European Anti-Fraud Office and the World Anti-Doping Agency. The joint action comprehensively tackled 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 activity led in Italy
to the execution of 967 inspections and controls, with the opening of 11 investigative activities, with a total of 138 subjects reported to judicial authorities and 23 arrests. A clandestine laboratory was discovered and two criminal groups dismantled. Substantial seizures of drugs and doping substances of different types, supplements as well as 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 more than 2.6 million. Peculiar area of investigation concerns the fight against doping in both amateur and professional sports activities.
Anti-doping investigative inspectors carried out 47 doping checks, both “in” (40) and “out” (7) competitions, which resulted in 161 athletes being tested 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 significant was the activity of blacking out 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.
Overall, the operation, conducted in the territories of the various member 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; and 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).
Maxi seizure of doping drugs, 23 arrests across Italy
