Chinese gangs 'behind fake drugs'

Source: BBC News



By Jill McGivering




Trans-national ethnic Chinese gangs are behind the growing trade in counterfeit anti-malarial drugs in South East Asia, the BBC has been told. John Newton, a senior investigator with Interpol, said counterfeits are now starting to appear in Africa too. He said the gangs involved an organised criminals working across national boundaries and faking the drugs on an industrial scale. He described them as businessmen with a sophisticated network of conspirators. In some cases, fake drugs operations are run alongside trade in fake credit cards, weapons and narcotics, he said.

The gangs are close-knit and hard to penetrate. "The common denominator is that they are ethnic Chinese," said Mr Newton, a senior investigator and specialist in counterfeiting with the international police force. "By that, what I mean is that they may be Malaysians, they may be from the People's Republic of China or Myanmar, the former Burma.

"Because they know each other, they're very difficult to infiltrate. They have established networks in the various countries. They're able to exchange and distribute the product. And that makes it very difficult for us to counter," he said. The fakes are increasingly sophisticated. That, plus the scale of production, suggests a large investment by the criminals.

International health officials warn that anti-malarial drugs are just the tip of the iceberg. There is also growing concern about fake antibiotics and fake anti-retrovirals used to treat HIV/Aids, and even fake versions of the drugs used to treat avian flu. The profits are huge. The UN said that within a few years, global sales of fake drugs could be worth $75bn a year.




Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6718645.stm

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"He described them as businessmen with a sophisticated network of conspirators. " PROBABLY TAUGHT BY BY BFEE / BUSHCO.

Holly confronts Harry with his disgust at his racketeering and corruption (the light side exposing the dark side) and how he has already informed the police and Anna about Harry's charade and disappearance. Harry claims immunity in the neutral zones of Vienna. Knowing of his cynical dealings on the black market, Holly asks if he has ever seen any of his victims - children who populate the hospital wards . Harry looks contemptuously down from the ferris wheel at the scuttling mortals below, cheerfully calling the people unrecognizable "dots" from the height of the ride:

Harry Lime: Victims? Don't be melodramatic. (He opens the door to the car.) Look down there. Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever? If I offered you 20,000 pounds for every dot that stopped, would you really, old man, tell me to keep my money? Or would you calculate how many dots you could afford to spare? Free of income tax, old man, free of income tax. The only way you can save money nowadays.

Film Site - The Third Man

tainted drugs. yeah, it appears to me that china has all the pieces in place to be the next world leader.

we taught them well.