88,000 UNITS UNREGISTERED D MEDICINAL PRODUCTS WORTH RM24 MILLION SEIZED IN PENANG

BUKIT MERTAJAM, Jan 26 (Bernama) -- A total of 88,000 units of unregistered health products, including traditional medicines suspected of containing scheduled poisons and valued at RM24 million, were seized in raids at 19 premises across Penang today.

State Health Director Datuk Dr Fazilah Shaik Allaudin said that in the integrated operation, which began at 6.45 am, five men aged between 34 and 6, including two Bangladeshi nationals, were arrested following intelligence gathered since 2023 and public complaints.

She said the operation was conducted by the Penang Health Department, through the State Pharmacy Enforcement Branch (CPF) and in collaboration with the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the Inland Revenue Board (IRB).

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“It was aimed at curbing the sale of unregistered traditional medicines suspected of containing scheduled poisons, in contravention of the Sale of Drugs Act 1952 and the Poisons Act 1952,” she told reporters after a raid on a factory in Simpang Ampat here.

Fazilah said authorities seized 88,000 units of products, more than 500 packages of raw materials suspected to contain scheduled poisons, over 23,000 semi-finished products, two digital devices, and 36 units of medicine-processing machinery, including capsule-filling and strip-packaging machines.

She said the seized products included traditional Chinese medicines suspected of containing prohibited substances such as steroids, paracetamol, allopurinol and other compounds listed under the Poisons Act 1952.

Fazilah said 13 of the 19 premises, including factories, storage warehouses, labelling, marketing and logistics facilities, inspected were involved in the illegal activities, adding that initial investigations indicated that all the premises were linked to the same syndicate network.

“Most of the products are marketed as painkillers and treatments for illnesses such as gout. Our investigations found that they are sold at an estimated price of RM20 per box, both online and at traditional Chinese medicine shops,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Health (MOH) Pharmacy Enforcement Division director Mohd Zawawi Abdullah said investigations revealed that the manufacturing activities had been ongoing since 2020, with the syndicate adopting a modus operandi of dispersing production processes across multiple locations to evade detection.

He said a 34-year-old local man had been identified as the mastermind coordinating operations at all 19 premises.

Authorities are currently tracking several more individuals believed to be linked to the syndicate, he said, adding that the factory in Simpang Ampat, which was raided today, is the largest and accounts for the bulk of the seizure value.

“The syndicate is believed to have also used the facility to produce medicines intended for export to Vietnam,” he said.

Mohd Zawawi added that although registered as processing facilities, they did not possess a licence to manufacture medicines and did not operate daily but only on selected days to avoid enforcement action.

He said the integrated operation was part of MOH’s ongoing efforts to combat the production, sale and distribution of illegal health products, both locally and for export.

He warned that traditional medicines containing scheduled poisons can cause serious harm to internal organs, particularly the kidneys, and noted that inspections revealed the same ingredients were used across different products under varying labels.

Investigations are being conducted under Regulation 7(1)(a) of the Drug and Cosmetic Control Regulations 1984 and Section 13(a) of the Poisons Act 1952.

-- BERNAMA