US operation intercepts hundreds of illegal medicine shipments

A crackdown on shipments of illicit medicinal products in Cincinnati has netted products worth more than $1.2m that could pose healthy and safety risks to US consumers.

More than 300 shipments of fake, unapproved medicines, cosmetics and liposuction machines were seized by US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and FDA officers during Special Operation Safe Passage, which ran during the last week of April.

The agencies targeted FDA-regulated products such as COVID-19 medicines and test kits, prescription medicines for other diseases, medical devices and beauty products that could be ineffective or dangerous.

Among the seized goods were the following:

•    Botox and Dysport
•    GHRP-6
•    Liporase, Radiesse, and EPTQ Lidocaine
•    Placentex
•    Viagra and Cialis
•    Rivotril
•    Clomiphene
•    Anastrozole
•    Ritonavir
•    Cimzia
•    Clenbuterol
•    COVID-19 test kits
•    Unapproved body sculpting machines, liposuction machines, and other fat reduction machines

The illegal products originated from countries all over Asia and Europe and were headed to addresses throughout the US, according to a CBP statement.

"Unlike FDA-sanctioned drugs and medical equipment sold by known companies, online platforms and third-party sellers offer products made in unregulated facilities with unknown quality controls and unknown ingredients," added the agency.