BEIJING – Chinese police have detained almost 2,000 people in a nationwide sweep on fake drugs, seizing more than $180 million worth of counterfeit products and destroying some 1,100 production facilities, the public security ministry said on Sunday.
The operation, involving around 18,000 police officers, discovered fake or adulterated drugs purporting to deal with illnesses ranging from diabetes to high blood pressure and rabies, the ministry said in a statement on its website (www.mps.gov.cn).
The suspects went so far as to advertise their drugs online, in newspapers and on television, and the drugs caused problems ranging from liver and kidney damage to heart failure, it added.
“The criminals’ methods were despicable and have caused people to boil with rage,” the ministry said.
The government has repeatedly promised to tighten regulatory systems after safety scandals involving fish, drugs, toys, toothpaste, children’s clothes, tyres, drugs and milk fortified with melamine, used in the manufacture of tabletops.
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