Surge in EU seizures of fake drugs

Surge in EU seizures of fake drugs

By Nikki Tait in Brussels

Published: May 19 2008 21:41 | Last updated: May 19 2008 21:41

The number of fake cosmetics, medicines and toys seized coming into Europe has soared, according to European Union statistics.

While China remained the largest single source of seized goods last year, accounting for almost 60 per cent of the total, Georgia emerged as a big supplier of fake cosmetics and personal care items and Turkey became the largest source of counterfeit food and beverage products.

Even more surprisingly, Switzerland, followed by India and the United Arab Emirates, were the leading provenances for fake medicines stopped by customs officials.

The most popular counterfeited medicine was Viagra, used to correct erectile dysfunction. But a number of other fake treatments for serious conditions were seized, including medicines to treat hypertension, osteoporosis and cholesterol.

There were more than 43,000 cases registered in 2007, up 17 per cent on the previous year. However, the number of articles intercepted fell from 128m in 2006 to 79m.

China tops illegal trade list

China is the most common country of origin for seized clothing, shoes, computer equipment, CDs/DVDs, jewellery, toys and cigarettes. But officials say China is becoming more co-operative, possibly for reasons of “political prestige” but also because some potentially harmful fakes may be making their way back on to the country’s domestic market.

Meanwhile, Turkey outstripped China in the foodstuff/beverages category, and also featured prominently among seized cosmetics and clothing.

Officials say this reflected a shift in the type of goods being held – with seizures of cigarettes and CDs/DVDs falling and those for cosmetics, medicines and toys ­rising sharply. Seizures of cosmetics, for example, rose 264 per cent year-on-year, and those for medicines climbed 51 per cent.

Seizures generally involved a smaller number of articles per case than in the past – suggesting smugglers might be taking fewer risks and sending smaller quantities in each shipment, often using courier services or mail. The trend might also reflect the growth in internet sales.

Lazlo Kovacs, the EU tax­ation and customs commissioner, said that, in spite of the overall fall in the number of articles seized, the 2007 figures showed “some new and alarming tendencies”. He admitted to being shocked at Switzerland’s prominent presence in the statistics, but said this stemmed largely from one huge consignment of counterfeit pills.

“I hope that is one case which will never [be] repeated,” he said.

Most of the articles seized infringed either national or European intellectual property rights – with trademark infringement occurring in almost 92 per cent of cases.