17.10.17
Londoner avoids prison for possession of nearly £500,000 in unlicensed medicines
A London man who was in possession of more than 209,000 unlicensed medicines worth upwards of £471,000 has been given a suspended sentence.
Kim-Andre Frantzen, of Kenley, South London, received nine months in prison, suspended for 18 months, and 200 hours unpaid work. He was also ordered to pay a £100 victim surcharge plus £2,500 in costs.
The defendant pleaded guilty to the charges at Guildford Crown Court which included the possession of large amounts of unlicensed erectile dysfunction medicines.
The decision comes as the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulation Agency (MHRA) continues its #FakeMeds campaign, which aims to warn the public about potentially dangerous medicines sold by illegal online suppliers.
The agency says that more than half of medicines bought online are fake and could cause harm or even death to the user.
It also points to problems such as fraud and identity theft as the type of risks people could face when they buy products from unlicensed users.
“Selling unlicensed medicines is illegal and can pose a serious risk to health,” said Alastair Jeffrey, head of enforcement for the MHRA. “Unlicensed medicines can be dangerous as you just don’t know what’s in them, or if they even work.
“They may contain dangerous ingredients that could have awful consequences for your health.
“Criminals don’t care about improving your health - they are only interested in your wallet. So why take that risk? We will continue to track down and prosecute those who are willing to put others’ health in jeopardy.”
Counterfeit drugs have become a global problem in the health industry, the World Health Organisation (WHO) estimating that the sales of these products has soared to over £56bn each year.
The MHRA seized more than 12 million products in the first half of 2016, with a huge issue being diet pills. In fact, figures show one in eight British people said they’re likely to buy theses fat-fighting substances in the next 12 months.
Glen Hodgson, head of healthcare at GS1 UK, told NHE that public bodies across Europe are constantly trying to deal with the problem.
“As you’d expect, countries all over the world are doing their best to combat this and legislation around labelling requirements for medicines is establishing how best to win the battle,” Hodgson explained.
“The key focus for regulators is the need to identify and trace pharmaceutical products, so that we know the medicine is what it says it is and can see exactly where it has come from.”
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