In an operation carried out by customs
inspectors in 16 ports from July 11 to 20, called “Vice Grips 2”, 80 million doses of
contraband drugs worth $ 40million have been seized in sixteen African
countries by the World Customs Organisation (WCO) with the biggest hauls made
in Angola, Cameroon, Ghana and Togo.
The illegal doses impounded by customs officers who searched
containers in the 16 countries’ ports include anti-malarial and anti-parasitic
drugs, antibiotics, cough syrups, contraceptive pills and infertility
treatments.
The operation was put together by WCO in partnership with the
Institute of Research against Counterfeit Medicines (IRACM). Sixteen African
nations joined the search team. The countries include Ghana, Angola, Benin,
Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Congo, Côte
d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania
and Togo.
“The operation was
conducted simultaneously at 16 major seaports on the East and West coasts of
Africa from July 11 to 20, 2012, leading to the seizure of more than 100
million counterfeit products of all categories. Of a total number of 110
maritime containers inspected by teams of Customs officials, 84 were found to
contain counterfeit or illicit products, with the biggest shipments being
discovered in Angola, Togo, Cameroon and Ghana,” WCO said.
"It is the biggest operation of
its kind," Christophe Zimmermann, in charge of anti-counterfeit operations
at the WCO, said at a press conference in Paris.
Illegal medications are a growing
problem in Africa, as they may be toxic or fail to have a sufficient dose of
active ingredient to combat a disease, Zimmermann and others said.
It was reported that most of the
illicit drugs came from East and South Asia -- particularly China -- and the
Middle East, notably Dubai.
Inspectors helped by a French
anti-counterfeit agency searched 110 shipping containers, 84 of which were found
to have illegal or fake medications.
Custom Inspectors also found 33 million
doses of fake medications, along with pornographic DVDs, which had been stashed
deep inside a batch of loudspeakers that were being exported to Angola. None of
the "drugs" had any active ingredient.
In Togo, a smuggled batch of
expectorant cough syrup, supposed to be kept at a cool, stable temperature of
-2 to +4 degrees Celsius (28-39 degrees Fahrenheit), was literally cooking in a
container where the temperature was more than 50 C (122 F).
"Africa is now being used as a
rubbish tip, and this directly affects consumer health and safety,"
Zimmermann said.
"We are dealing with structured
organisations that specialise in international fraud, which exploit
globalisation in operations that span continents and countries, using different
forms of transport."
Meanwhile, WCO secretary general, Kunio
Mikuriya said additional operations would be staged in Africa over the next six
months to maintain momentum on the drug fakers.
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