Counterfeit drugs seized in China

Police in China have reportedly seized 20,000 boxes of counterfeit drugs and detained more than 20 people thought to be selling them online.

According to a report by state run news service Xinhua on Sunday, July 19, drugs including pain killers and slimming pills that contained “banned ingredients” were seized in the city of Huzhou in eastern China.

At the time of the seizure the drugs had been sold in nearly 30 provinces and municipalities across China and had made as much as RMB100 million ($16.11 million), Xinhua reported.

The products were being sold both on websites and through Chinese messaging app WeChat.

According to Xinhua, police underwent a three month investigation during which customers complained that they had suffered adverse effects from taking the drugs.

A woman who was not named complained of suffering dramatic weight loss.

"In a few months, my heart rate was faster than normal, I lost my appetite and suffered insomnia," the woman said.

Stephen Yang, partner at Peksung Intellectual Property, said "the counterfeit drugs include Chinese medicine, which shows that counterfeit products are not only faced by foreign companies but also, and in fact more frequently, by Chinese companies.

"This case also shows that an option to enforce IP rights is through the police (public security organ, as we call it), and criminal sanctions could apply," he added.

The investigation is continuing.