Ancona, 15 May 2024 – Maxi seizure of drugs unauthorized from India to the port of Ancona by the Yellow Flames of Ancona and the officials of the local Customs and Monopolies Agency.
The blitz began during the checks carried out on an articulated lorry disembarked from a motor ship coming from Greece where it was discovered a well-hidden cargo consisting of a huge quantity of medicines of Indian origin, all without the necessary authorizations and certifications for their importation and distribution in Italy.
Maxi blitz at the port of Ancona of unauthorized drugs coming from India
The cargo included over 2,100,000 doses of irregular drugs, including as many as 1,700,000 containing the active ingredients Sildenafil, Tadalafil and Vardenafil, used for erectile dysfunction. In order to evade controls, the documentation provided for transport falsely and deceptively indicated that the goods consisted of cosmetics sent by a Greek company, which was unaware of the transport.
However, further insights revealed that 12 pallets transported on the vehicle, weighing 7 tonnes, contained a vast range of medicines, bearing well-known brands such as Kamagra, Cobra, Careforce, Sexforce, Vilitra, in various formats, i.e. gels, tablets, sweets, effervescent tablets, completely without the necessary authorizations issued by the Italian Medicines Agency (Aifa).
In addition to sexual enhancement drugs, over 400,000 doses have been found of medicines containing Gonadotropin, or hormones to promote pregnancy, often used also in the world of bodybuilders to increase muscle mass, and of Preanailin, an antiepileptic drug, often used to enhance the effects of drugs.
The large quantity of drugs, “the largest ever recorded in Italy for this category” (we read in a note) and which could have generated profits in the clandestine market amounting to around 20 million euros, with very serious risks for the health of potential consumers, was immediately seized while the driver of the vehicle was reported to the Ancona Prosecutor’s Office.
