Domestic customs registered a huge increase in seizures of banned or falsified medicines in the first quarter of the year. Compared to the same period last year, the number of cases has risen from 501 to 3180. The increase in quantity is also dramatic: after 25 kilograms of prohibited drugs were seized in the first three months of 2021, this was in the first three months of 2021 279 kilos. the same period this year – an increase of more than ten times that. An important part: the dewormer Ivermectin.
“The customs quarterly balance sheet shows how much our customs officials are doing to protect the health of the people in our country,” Treasury Secretary Magnus Brunner said. “The false and dangerous rumors that you can protect yourself from Covid-19 or fight the virus with a horse wormer persist, although even the manufacturer warns against such use. Our customs controls protect against this life-threatening drug abuse.”
Strong increase in illegal shipment of e-cigarettes
Illegal tobacco products were also increasingly seized: while customs registered 368 seizures of tobacco products last year, there were already 550 cases in the first quarter of this year. Although the number of smuggled cigarettes fell by about half from the same period in 2021, 2,044 illegally shipped e-cigarettes were seized.
Huge increase in protected object types
However, the number of species protection notifications in the first quarter of 2022 was identical to that of the first quarter of 2021. What has changed is that unlike the previous year (from January to March 74 smuggled animals, chameleons, were found) there were only six live, smuggled animals in the form of three breeding pairs of parrots.
In the 28 seizures from January to March this year, 1,074 items relevant to species conservation were seized – up from 119 items in the first quarter of 2021. These are mainly prohibited or alleged medicines containing parts of species protected animals and plants.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
