Illegal Internet pharmacies expanding Internet

Illegal Internet pharmacies selling drugs, including narcotics, are flourishing on the Internet, found the International Narcotics Control Board in its annual report

A great internet traffic

The Vienna-based UN body, which requires that states adopt legislation to fight against this phenomenon, estimated that the total transactions generated by these illegal pharmacies corresponds to hundreds of millions of dollars.

It is difficult to assess the extent of the problem, due to the volatile nature of these sites that play hide and seek with the authorities closing to immediately reinstall elsewhere.

But according to the INCB, it is established that these illicit virtual pharmacies carry far more operations than a traditional pharmacy with lawful activities.

In its report released, the organization indicates that some pharmacies outside-the-law would achieve 450 daily sales transactions averaged normally on prescription drugs, which would cover 95% of substances under international control.

According to figures of foreclosures in the United States, one of these sites would have a sales volume of 6 million doses per year for only diazepam and hydrocodone.

The drugs being trafficked on the Internet are fentanyl, hydrocodone, oxycodone, methadone, codeine and dextropropoxyphene, substances favored by drug addicts.

These pharmacies offer illegal stimulants methylphenidate, dextroamphetamine, amphetamine Amfepramone-phentermine, analgesics, pentazocine-and-benzodiazepine alprazolam, bromazepam, chlordiazepoxide, diazepam, nitrazepam, temazepam, among others.

Among the countries most often chosen by traffickers to establish their operations, the United States is in right place. They are also the first country where it is being used illicit Internet pharmacies, whose products often come from the Caribbean and Mexico.

In Asia, the most cited as a basis for these sites are China, India, Pakistan and Thailand. In Europe, the Netherlands are often singled out.

Price up to 18 times higher

As for prices, they can be up to 18 times higher than the same products offered within a legal framework.

The Board notes that some of the substances is the diversion of licitly manufactured pharmaceutical preparations, while another part is illicitly manufactured from raw materials stolen or illegally obtained.

It also happens that the precursors of psychotropic are available directly on the Internet, charging the buyer to make itself the final product.

In the Netherlands, a website and proposed large-scale precursors needed to manufacture GHB and provided the recipe.

The Board regrets that only a few countries have so far adopted measures to prevent the criminal use of the web. Even in these countries, it is difficult to combat the phenomenon due to the international nature of the phenomenon.

The organization calls for greater international coordination and welcomes initiatives in the United States, the Netherlands and Sweden in this direction.

INCB also suggests that national authorities to appeal to business cooperation essential services to Internet commerce, such as credit card companies and other financial service providers.