286 Sites Closed, 23 Arrested in Pharmaceutical Ring Bust

ROME: Police have seized thousands of medicines and banned substances worth more than 2 million euros, arrested 23 people, and cited 138 others, closing 286 websites illegally selling drugs as part of a sweeping operation to bust a ring of pharmaceutical counterfeiters and traffickers in Italy and abroad, investigative sources said Thursday.

According to Ansa News Agency, four athletes believed to have bought substances from the organization have tested positive for doping. The international operation, named Shield V, was carried out from April to November 2024 under Europol’s direction, with participation from 30 EU and non-EU countries, along with several international organizations.

The NAS health and hygiene police and customs police led the Italian investigation. The commercial value of all the drugs seized totaled more than 2.6 million euros.

Investigators also uncovered four illegal laboratories producing counterfeit drugs and investigated 52 suspected criminal organizations, the sources said.