65 Million Drug Bottles Captured in Chinese Counterfeit Crackdown
Chinese authorities instituted a major counterfeit medicine raid in Henan province cumulating with 114 people arrested and 65 million bottles of medicine collected, estimated at $30 million.
Reports Securing Pharma, raids on 117 locations in Anyang, in northern Henan, revealed manufacturing and sales locations for the fake drugs.
Police were first alerted to the ring following the investigation of a thief who substituted counterfeit medications for authentic ones on pharmacy shelves.
The raid follows upon Chinese regulation to improve the oversight of contract manufacturing because some facilities have been using client equipment on night-shifts to produce illicit copies of authentic pharmaceuticals, reports Securing Pharma.
Additionally China increased penalties for counterfeit medicine production and sale, including removing jail limits and raising fines.