Tiamat
07-08-2009, 10:51 PM
MONTREAL — The RCMP seized thousands of dollars worth of counterfeit pills and arrested nine people during raids Thursday in the Greater Montreal region.
The suspects could face charges of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and infringement of a registered trade-mark and distribution of materials protected by copyright.
The fake medications, which included treatments for cancer and erectile dysfunction, were being sold in stores, on the street and over the Internet, police said.
The RCMP anti-fraud operation, carried out in conjunction with Health Canada, has been under way since February 2008.
Police surreptitiously purchased some of the fake medications over the last 18 months and had them analyzed at government labs, an RCMP spokesperson said Friday at a news conference at RCMP headquarters in Montreal.
Health authorities said the fake pills could prove prove dangerous to consumers.
While the drugs looked the same as many approved medications sold in pharmacies, the counterfeit drugs contained irregular dosages, additives and other drugs, Health Canada spokesperson Sylvie Cantin said.
The suspects could face charges of fraud, conspiracy to commit fraud, and infringement of a registered trade-mark and distribution of materials protected by copyright.
The fake medications, which included treatments for cancer and erectile dysfunction, were being sold in stores, on the street and over the Internet, police said.
The RCMP anti-fraud operation, carried out in conjunction with Health Canada, has been under way since February 2008.
Police surreptitiously purchased some of the fake medications over the last 18 months and had them analyzed at government labs, an RCMP spokesperson said Friday at a news conference at RCMP headquarters in Montreal.
Health authorities said the fake pills could prove prove dangerous to consumers.
While the drugs looked the same as many approved medications sold in pharmacies, the counterfeit drugs contained irregular dosages, additives and other drugs, Health Canada spokesperson Sylvie Cantin said.