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The National Tax and Customs Board (NAV) prevented the marketing of more than 3.5 million medical devices, medicines, disinfectants and protective equipment, mostly masks, within the framework of the international STOP action held on May 11 as of July 12, NAV customs officials said. CEO at a press conference in Budapest on Monday.
According to MTI reports Kristóf Péter Bakai He explained that the customs authorities inspected almost 200,000 vehicles and 400,000 people during the operation. In cooperation with the National Police Station, the National Institute of Pharmacy and Food Health (OGYÉI) and the National Anti-Counterfeiting Board (HENT), counterfeit products of inadequate quality were seized or detained.
Gyula Pomázi, the Vice President of HENT emphasized that medicines and epidemiological devices from uncontrolled sources represent a great threat to human health, in addition to harming legal producers and the national economy.
The NAV Director General of Customs announced that the international STOP action was launched by the World Customs Organization (WCO) to curb the trade in illegal drugs and medical devices due to the coronavirus epidemic, in addition to several international organizations and stakeholders from the private sector.
As you said, there have been nearly 1,700 raids internationally, involving more than 300 million units of illegally sourced drugs, sometimes expired, 47 million counterfeit medical equipment (masks, gloves, COVID-19 test kits, thermometers and protective clothing) and about 2, 8 million liters of hand sanitizer gel were seized from an uncontrolled source.
During the Hungarian operation, more than 100,000 cars, more than 60,000 trucks and more than 1,000 minibuses, around 1,000 boats and almost 6,000 rail trains were inspected. Kristóf Péter Bakai added that they also found smuggled cigarettes and drugs, which were seized.
The direct objective of the action was to protect consumers and legal economic operators, and the indirect objective was to prevent the financing of organized crime, and through the inspections, NAV made a significant contribution to maintaining a legal and safe environment, emphasized the director customs.
Gyula Pomázi said that HENT also finds many counterfeit products in medicines, food and consumer goods, so they consider appropriate actions to combat counterfeiting of particular importance.
The Vice President of the Board recalled the successful implementation of Annex IX, which took place between December 2019 and June 2020 and was coordinated by Interpol and Europol. OPSON international raid, in which a total of 26,000 raids were carried out with the participation of 83 countries. During the action to combat food counterfeiting, more than 12,000 tons of illegal and probably harmful products were seized, for a total value of 28 million euros. Authorities also killed 19 organized criminal groups and arrested 406 suspects.
He also announced that, for the thirteenth time this year, an international campaign called PANGEA has been organized to act against the distribution of counterfeit medicines and food supplements and to eradicate illegal online pharmacies. The international campaign in March found more than 2,000 Internet links advertising a fake device linked to the coronavirus, mainly medical masks, and almost 34,000 products, also linked to the epidemic, were seized across borders.
Gyula Pomázi also noted that, according to an investigation conducted by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), between 2014 and 2016, hundreds of thousands of people died and 4,000 million euros in drug damage worldwide.
Mátyás Szentiványisaid the CEO of OGYÉI: the coronavirus epidemic created a new situation, it also brought to the surface problems whose effects had not previously affected daily life. As you said, the exposure of non-European providers to the healthcare market has been demonstrated.
The epidemic has led to a shortage of products that were previously available in large quantities and cheap, and the shortages have led to the emergence of counterfeit or poor-quality products, he said.
The Director General also stressed the importance of cooperation between authorities and the role and responsibility of consumers in the fight against counterfeit and substandard products.
Featured Image Illustration (MTI / EPA / Europol)
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