Hidden drug warehouses exposed in Namangan

A rapid operation in the Namangan region uncovered hidden drug warehouses, the State Security Service reported.

It was established that three citizens, born in 1985, 1992, and 1993, and residents of the Uychi district, were engaged in the illegal trade of counterfeit and uncertified medicines. Hidden warehouses at five locations in the city of Namangan and Uychi district belonging to them were inspected in the presence of witnesses.

As a result, a total of 102,640 boxes of counterfeit medicines (Heparin, Actovegin, Hilak Forte, Ursofalk, and others) of 1,267 types, manufactured in China, Russia, India, France, Italy, Turkey, Vietnam, Israel, Poland, Ukraine, Germany, and other countries, without the required documentation and with an estimated value of 7.2 billion soums, were identified and seized in accordance with procedural rules. Among them were medicines such as "Testosterone" and "Retobolil," which contain potent substances.

It was revealed that the counterfeit medicines had been imported into Uzbekistan from Kyrgyzstan through indirect routes.

In this case, a criminal case is expected to be initiated under Article 1863 of the Criminal Code (production, preparation, acquisition, storage, transportation, or sale of low-quality or counterfeit medicines or medical devices for sale, sale of medicines or medical devices outside pharmacies and their branches, as well as violation of the procedure for retail sale of medicines containing potent substances by prescription) and Article 2511 (production, distribution, advertising, demonstration of products promoting potent substances that are not considered narcotic drugs, their analogues or psychotropic substances, or the illegal introduction of such substances or toxic substances into circulation). Pre-investigation measures are currently underway.

It is worth noting that earlier, in the Gijduvan district of the Bukhara region, 95,656 medicines containing potent substances were discovered in the home of a previously convicted citizen.