Arrests made in counterfeit Alli case

Two people have been arrested in the USA on charges relating to involvement in the supply of unapproved and counterfeit weight loss medicines, including fake versions of GlaxoSmithKline's over-the-counter product Alli.

Both are Chinese nationals and have been charged with a number of offences relating to trade in counterfeit Alli and other illegal drugs sold via a website - 2daydietshopping.com - which operates out of Plano, Texas. 

Sengyang Zhou was taken into custody in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 23, the same day accomplice Qingming Hu was arrested in Texas.

"Zhou travelled from China to Hawaii intending to meet with persons interested in distributing his counterfeit weight loss pills in the US," said the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in a joint statement with US customs and postal inspection service.

Earlier this year the FDA issued a warning to the public and healthcare professionals to be wary of Alli sourced from websites after encountering fake versions of the product containing potentially dangerous levels of an unrelated weight-loss medicine sibutramine.

Genuine Alli contains a compound called orlistat that works by binding fat in the gastrointestinal tract so that it is not absorbed by the body.

The FDA cites at least one case of a man who switched from his usual Alli source to use product supplied by Zhou's website, and suffered "a significant adverse reaction, including symptoms associated with heart palpitations, numbness within his left arm, severe anxiety, enormous eye pressure/headaches, profuse sweating and chills."

Testing at an FDA laboratory revealed that the product contained levels of sibutramine.

"During the course of the investigation, law enforcement agents identified Zhou as the alleged trafficker and importer into the US of these counterfeit and unapproved purported weight loss related drugs," said the statement.

The enforcement operation saw undercover agents place orders with the website and wire money to accounts Zhou operated. In a meeting with Zhou he identified himself as the manufacturer of the counterfeit Alli and promised to correct certain production defects noted by the FDA in its alerts in future shipments.

Zhou has been charged with introduction and delivery into interstate commerce of unapproved new drugs, importation of pharmaceutical drugs contrary to law, the importation and distribution of schedule IV, non-narcotic controlled substances, and trafficking in counterfeit goods.

If convicted of all charges, Zhou faces up to 38 years in prison and up to a million dollars in fines.


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