Counterfeit medicines for cancer patients were supplied to Ukraine: law enforcement officers liquidated the international channel
Four members of the criminal group set up the sale of counterfeit medicines of foreign production through established online stores.
Police officers of the Main Investigative Department of the National Police of Ukraine together with the Department of Counterintelligence Protection of State Interests in the Field of Information Security of the Security Service of Ukraine exposed criminal activity under the procedural guidance of the Office of the Prosecutor General.
According to the investigation, the criminal group was organized by a 34-year-old resident of the Kiev region, who established a scheme for the sale of counterfeit medicines of the cancer group on the territory of Ukraine.
It was established that in order to attract the attention of potential buyers, the defendants created two websites and registered them on the Internet under the domain names “https://medbrowse.net” and “https://www.piluli.info”, which are consonant with the domain names of well-known websites that provide services for finding medicines and comparing their prices in pharmacies in Ukraine.
The attackers received orders from buyers with the phones indicated on the pages of online stores. The sale of counterfeit medicines was carried out through the postal service. For the conspiracy, the participants of the group used personal data of persons who were unaware of the illegal activity. In the course of the investigation, possible suppliers of counterfeit products were identified, including from the countries of the EU, USA, Turkey.
In the course of documenting criminal activity, 15 searches were carried out in the territory of the Kiev region and the city of Kiev, which resulted in the seizure of counterfeit medicines worth tens of millions of hryvnias, money, mobile phones, computer equipment and draft records containing information about the commission of crimes.
The organizer and three members of the group were informed of the suspicion of committing criminal offenses provided for in part 3 of article 28, part 2 of article. 321-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (falsification of medicines or circulation of counterfeit medicines).
The organizer and one of the defendants were detained. Another member of the group was appointed by the court as a precautionary measure — detention. For the rest, the court hearings are ongoing.
The sanction of the article provides for punishment in the form of imprisonment for up to ten years with confiscation of property.
Department of Communications of the National Police of Ukraine
