As a result of a special operation in Kyiv region and Kharkiv, the SSU’s cyber units shut down a channel of smuggling counterfeit oncology medicines into Ukraine.

Most of the falsified drugs were manufactured in russia and several Middle Eastern countries.

To illegally ‘import the goods’, the smugglers hid them in disguised technological cavities of their vehicles and crossed the state border from third states.

The fraudsters sold wholesale batches of dubious medications through specially created online stores and groups on social media.

Direct delivery to ‘customers’ was carried out through controlled pharmacies and popular postal services.

According to the investigation, the offenders’ weekly ‘profits’ amounted to millions of hryvnias.

As a result of the operation, the SSU detained five members of the international criminal group that organized the unlawful business.

The SSU-initiated examination confirmed that the medicines found in the dealers’ possession were counterfeit and did not meet the characteristics stated on the ‘product’.

During the searches of the suspects’ pharmacies and homes, offices and warehouses, the SSU seized:

• a large number of counterfeit medicines;
• unregistered firearms;
• false accounting records;
• mobile phones and computers with evidence of the offence.

The detained individuals have been notified of suspicion under Article 321-1.2 of the CCU (counterfeiting medications or trafficking in counterfeit medications, committed by an organized group).

The investigation is ongoing. The suspects are facing up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property.

The SSU carried out the operation jointly with the National Police and the State Service of Ukraine on Medicines and Drugs Control under the supervision of Solomianskyi District Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv.