Law enforcement officers exposed criminals who counterfeited and sold in large quantities counterfeit medicines for serious diseases such as cancer, hepatitis B and others.

The criminal group, most of whose members were foreigners, was identified during the criminal proceedings initiated by the Department of Operational and Investigative Activity of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

Investigative (search) actions were carried out by operatives of the State Border Guard Service together with prosecutors of the Prosecutor General’s Office and officials of the National Police of Ukraine. Force support was provided by the special unit of the State Border Guard Service «DOZOR».

In the frame of the investigation, searches were conducted in Kyiv and Kyiv region at properties where the medicines were probably counterfeited and stored as well as at the residences of the group members and in their vehicles.

Mobile terminals, laptops, bank cards, rough notes, components for medicines - stickers of holograms and QR codes, accessories for sticking together packages, blank prescriptions, 280 items of expensive foreign medicines - more than 16 thousand packages were withdrawn. About 300 thousand USD in different currencies were withdrawn.

According to preliminary data, the sum of withdrawn medicines under the prices of the pharmaceutical market of Ukraine is about 62 million UAH. Some of found medicines are estimated at 5-9 thousand USD per package on the websites of official manufacturers.

There is a pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings on the facts of manufacturing and distribution of counterfeit medicines, as well as transportation and concealing from customs control of counterfeit medicines across the customs border of Ukraine. The notice of suspicion was given to the members of the criminal group.