Operation Pangea: 12 arrests after illegal prescription tablets seized

Illegal prescription tablets worth around £800,000 have been seized in a week-long operation by police in Northern Ireland.

As a result of the raids on 23 homes, 12 people were arrested.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the operation was aimed at “disrupting the online sale of counterfeit and illegal prescription medicines”.

It said the final value of the 700,000 tablets seized was approximately £785,000.

The drugs were intercepted as part of an international police operation code-named “Operation Pangea.”

The prescription drugs seized included Zopriclone, Pregabalin, and Xanax.

Other prescription drugs recalled included diazepam, Botox and weight loss products.

Attorney General Andy Hill, who heads the PSNI’s organized crime division, said the seizures “certainly reduce the inevitable harm to people in the local community”.

“These numbers reflect a huge collective effort and are to be welcomed,” he said.

“But they are also a worrying sign of a reality: the demand for prescription drugs and their misuse.”

Operation Pangea aims to disrupt the online supply of illegal medicines and raise awareness of the health risks associated with them.

Department of Health (DoH) Permanent Secretary Peter May welcomed the drug theft and urged people not to be tempted by “professional-looking websites offering medicines without a prescription”.

“The risk of obtaining potentially harmful, counterfeit or substandard medicines without knowing the source of the pill or what it actually contains is greatly increased where normal regulatory systems are circumvented. To do.

“Illegal suppliers have no quality controls or legal standards to adhere to.”

“Profiting from a dire situation is not unchallenged,” said Richard Pengelly of the Justice Department.

“Drugs removed from circulation means our communities are safer places today.”