Customs officers at the 'Avia Gruz' post of the specialized customs complex 'Tashkent-Aero' have thwarted an attempt to smuggle over 21 tons of counterfeit pharmaceutical product 'Efba' into Uzbekistan, which was shipped from China.

During the customs inspection, it was revealed that the cargo declaration falsely stated the drug was manufactured in India. However, the examination showed that the packaging and labels lacked information about the country and manufacturer, instead only indicating the company for which the drug was produced. Moreover, Chinese characters on the packaging suggested that the medicine was not made in India.

Importing the drug into Uzbekistan requires a compliance certificate from the Center for Safety of Pharmaceutical Products under the Ministry of Health. According to the investigation, the cargo owners obtained this certificate by submitting an original Indian-made sample, planning to use it to bring in a large batch of counterfeit goods.

Had the scheme not been uncovered, over 160,000 packages of the fake drug could have reached pharmacies across the country.

The active ingredient of 'Efba' is levofloxacin, an antibiotic from the fluoroquinolone group. Counterfeiting such medications can lead to dangerous health consequences.

The seized drugs have been placed in temporary storage. Preliminary estimates put their value at over 7.3 billion soums. A criminal case has been initiated in connection with the incident.

Source: uznews.uz