arrests expected over web pharmacies bust

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Australian authorities are expected to make arrests later today in connection with an internet prescription drug trafficking ring.

So far 20 people have been arrested around the world as part of a US-led investigation dubbed 'Operation Cyber Chase', which is pursuing internet pharmacies that illegally sell drugs, including painkillers and sleeping pills.

In some cases, the buyers – who include teenagers – are buying internet drugs at a price four times as high as the cost of acquiring the medications legally, as Alison Caldwell reports.

ALISION CALDWELL: According to the US Drug Enforcement Administration, arrests are expected to be made soon in Australia as part of its investigation into prescription drug trafficking over the internet.

It's alleged the ring shipped drugs from India to the United States where they were repackaged for distribution around the world. Orders would be taken over the internet without a doctor's prescription.

The drugs were sold to customers through more than 200 websites operated in the US, Australia, Canada and Costa Rica.

Karen Tandy is the head of the US Drug Enforcement Administration.

KAREN TANDY: Operation Cyber Chase is the first major international enforcement action against online rogue pharmacies and their sources of supply. For too long e-traffickers masquerading as legitimate doctors and pharmacists have ridden the internet wave into the homes of millions of Americans.

ALISON CALDWELL: The drugs included morphine, Ritalin for the treatment of ADD, sleeping tablets, and painkillers including codeine, which requires a prescription in the United States.

Karen Tandy again.

KAREN TANDY: The public should know the warning signs of an illegal online pharmacy. If the internet site does not require a prescription, does not provide the pharmacy's physical address and phone number, has highly inflated prices for the drugs that are being ordered, is not a participant in any insurance plan, or encourages the consumer to have the drugs sent to a post office box, you're dealing with an illegal internet pharmacy.

ALISON CALDWELL: The arrests were the result of a yearlong investigation by US agencies, including the FBI and Customs, in collaboration with the Australian Federal Police. The investigation targeted online pharmacies that operate in the shadows of the internet, with no fixed addresses and no way of contacting them.

Australia has several accredited online pharmacies which offer products at reduced costs. But the authorities are targeting the online pharmacies which operate on the black market, selling drugs at inflated costs.

Ken Harvey is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Public Health at LaTrobe University. He says consumers need to be wary of the backyard operators.

KEN HARVEY: There's an awful lot of shonky businesses out there on the internet, including internet pharmacies. They will sell drugs without prescriptions. They will sell substandard and counterfeit drugs.

There will be drugs that have got no active ingredients in them, and clearly it's most unwise to use an international internet pharmacy that's not based in your own country and that is not regulated and registered with local authorities.

ALISON CALDWELL: What is the appeal of using an internet pharmacy?

KEN HARVEY: They have got economies of scale and they can provide drugs cheaper than the local suburban pharmacy. Having said that, often they do not provide the same service in terms of advice and information. If you've got symptoms and you want to go and talk to a pharmacist about the appropriate medication, I'd advise you go to your local friendly pharmacist.

If you've got a chronic disease, you've been on a particular medication for a long time and you're simply after the most cost effective supply, and you're not so interested in advice or information because you're familiar with the drug, then an internet pharmacy can offer good cost savings.

ALISON CALDWELL: The large pharmaceutical companies wouldn't like these internet pharmacies, would they?

KEN HARVEY: Well, I think the American companies don't like them because they certainly like to keep the American drug prices high, and there is a good traffic of reputable internet pharmacies in Canada, for example, which Americans use, and that obviously undermines the high prices that American pharmaceutical manufacturers have come to expect.

Most of us would believe that the prices American companies charge for American consumers are too high. In Australia we've got much more moderate prices because of our Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme.

But having said that, an internet pharmacy based in Australia, with economies of scale, can offer significant discounts to consumers on chronic medication.

ELEANOR HALL: Senior Lecturer at LaTrobe University's School of Public Health, Ken Harvey, speaking to Alison Caldwell