European police seize illicit medicines worth $185 million

THE HAGUE, Netherlands – The European Union’s police agency says law enforcement authorities seized illegally trafficked medicines last year worth more than 165 million euros ($185 million).

Europol said Friday that a seven-month operation involving authorities from 16 European countries led to 435 arrests and the seizure of 1.8 tons of medicines.

The police agency, which helped support the operations, says that more than half the medicines seized were counterfeit or falsified.

Europol says the illegally trafficked medicines included opioids but also treatments for heart disease and cancer as well as performance-enhancing drugs.

Police involved in the operations also seized criminal assets worth 3.2 million euros ($3.6 million). It did not elaborate further as to what these assets included.