Deadly toll of illegal drugs bought online

Rat poison, arsenic and anti-freeze present in bogus medicines

ILLEGALLY bought sedatives were involved in almost threequarters of drug deaths last year, according to Garda sources.

The Irish drugs regulator has warned that constant vigilance is needed as drugs ordered online through illegal pharmacies are often fake and can contain arsenic, rat poison or anti-freeze.

Others have so many potent chemicals in them they can cause strokes or heart attacks.

Almost 200 people involved in law enforcement in 50 countries gathered in Dublin for a two-day conference organised by Interpol this week. Police and health officials looked at how to tackle illegal sales of prescription drugs and prevent counterfeiting.

Criminal gangs typically sell slimming tablets and erectile dys- function pills, but sedatives are the most common, the conference heard.

In just one week this year, a global police effort code-named Operation Pangea seized 9.6 million tablets and closed almost 12,000 websites, including four Irish-controlled sites. Medicines worth €300,000 were seized in Ireland.

‘People are buying trays of diazepam for €20. These blisterpacks look legitimate. No Irish sites exist now, but they can be ordered online,’ a Garda expert said.

The most commonly seized sedatives are from the benzodiazepines family including diazepam, zolpidem and zopiclone. These should only be taken under supervision.

‘There are 400 deaths on average a year as a result of drug poisoning. In 70% of these deaths, there was a presence of pharmaceutical drugs.

‘Benzodiazepine was present in 32% of deaths, and in 38% of deaths other pharmaceutical drugs were found. These are dangerous drugs that are highly addictive,’ the expert warned.

The Irish Mail on Sunday found sedatives on sale this week through online forums for Irish users.

Meanwhile, the drug-related deaths index in Ireland shows a drop in poisoning deaths involving heroin and cocaine.

Also at the conference John Lynch from the Health Products Regulatory Authority said: ‘If a wholesaler were to buy from a dodgy supplier, that product would go into the pharmacies.

‘If it was a big batch, it would be a problem. Some of these are sterile products, they might need to be injected, so if they are tampered with there is a risk of septicaemia. That has the potential to kill.’

In some cases cancer-fighting drugs have been found to be contaminated, and a young Dublin girl who took fake slimming pills she ordered online had to have part of her colon removed in 2012.

Anyone concerned about drugs bought on line can send them in confidence to the HPRA for tests.