732 Sellers in Singapore Warned in Global Pharma Sting Operation

The Health Sciences Authority (HSA) has issued warnings to 732 sellers peddling products on online platforms as part of a global sting targeting pharmaceutical crime.

- Claudia Tan

An 18-year-old female in Singapore who advertised contact lenses for sale on the Telegram messaging app was among those warned by HSA, the authority said on June 26.

The enforcement action in Singapore was part of Operation Pangea, which international police organisation Interpol coordinated.

Conducted from Dec 16, 2024, to May 16, the global internet-based operation to combat such crime saw participation from 90 countries.

It led to the seizure of 50.4 million doses of illicit pharmaceuticals worth US$65 million (S$83.2 million).

The operation also saw the arrest of 769 suspects and the dismantling of 123 criminal groups worldwide, Interpol said, adding that the seizures and arrests are the largest in the operation's 17-year history.

The organisation said the operation highlighted the "alarming scale of the global trade in unapproved and counterfeit medicines".

In total, the global sting resulted in the forced shutdown of about 13,000 criminal-linked websites, social media pages, channels and bots used to market and sell illegal or falsified medicine.

"Malaysia removed the greatest number of online listings (7,000), followed by Russia, Ireland, Singapore and Iran," Interpol said.