Criminals around the world falsify masks, tests, and even vaccines. Everything that is currently in high demand in a pandemic. However, Lívia Ilku, head of the anti-counterfeiting working group of the National Anti-Counterfeiting Board, warns that anyone is playing Russian roulette, who illegally buys medicines and vaccines.
In China, a criminal gang counterfeiting a coronavirus vaccine was recently caught selling saline as a vaccine. However, this is not a unique case, according to the novekedes.hu article.
Since the outbreak of the epidemic, there has been a shortage of masks, gloves, disinfectant, while there is a high demand for tests. These increasing needs give criminals opportunities. Authorities worldwide have already seized medical devices of uncertain origin – masks, protective equipment -, alcoholic hand sanitisers, Covid tests and anti-coronavirus drugs. Moreover, even vaccines have appeared on the black market.
The most considerable risks of these products are the dubious origins and ingredients. It is unknown what the manufacturer’s requirements were during the production of the medicines and other products.
“Billions of fake medicines seized around the world have already detected a wide variety of substances: brick powder, ink, thinner, paint, heavy metals, arsenic, phosphoric acid, and even rat poison,”
says Lívia Ilkó. Some typical methods of counterfeiting can be observed. For example, fake vaccines are filled with saline or distilled water upon which they are sold as original ones. Illegal drugs are usually obtained from the dark web. But it is spreading so fast that it can be found in almost everyone’s life. Drug authorities try to block such ads and pages, but new sites always come up, and the site operator should be punished more severely.
Last year, the World Customs Organization prevented more than 3.5 million products from being placed in the Hungarian market under the name STOP action. These illegal products also included medicines, disinfectants and protective equipment.
Worldwide, more than 300 million units of illegally sourced, and even sometimes expired, drugs, 47 million uneffective medical masks, gloves, COVID-19 tests, thermometers, protective clothing, and about 2.8 million litres of hand sanitiser gel from uncontrolled sources were seized by authorities.
World drug use is between $ 1.2 trillion and $ 1.4 trillion a year. 10 per cent of this is done through an illegal channel. In Europe, the rate is estimated to be lower; however, that still means more than 2 million boxes of medicine a year. According to a Hungarian survey from 2019, 95 per cent of people get their medication from pharmacies. However, 10 per cent of those surveyed said they also get it from unauthorised websites and acquaintances. The effect of the current pandemic might, sadly, increase this trend.
It is also essential to notice that counterfeiting medicines and, subsequently, their illegal distribution, is a criminal offence. As of the law today, consumers buying illegal products will not be punished. Last time, police caught a Chinese band, but there are traders from other countries as well. Most of them are in India, China and the Middle East, but there are also many illegal traders in Hungary.
