New Delhi, March 1
Illicit drugs are now being ordered online with India emerging as the leading country of origin of internationally controlled substances being supplied worldwide via illegal Internet pharmacies that are coming up in a big way.

These pharmacies are using social media, primarily the Facebook, to publicise their websites, putting a large number of people across the world at risk of dangerous substances.

The 2011 Annual Report of the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) released globally in Vienna recently describes the growth of illegal Internet pharmacies as a major challenge to narcotics control departments worldwide and calls for immediate closure of such danger shops. It presents evidence of pharmacies targeting the young that access chat rooms and social media websites like Facebook and Twitter.

The report explicitly mentions India as the leading country of origin for internationally controlled substances including prescription medicines being sold globally. “The most worrying part is that the World Health Organization (WHO) has found that over half of the medicines being supplied through illegal online pharmacies are counterfeit,” Cristina Albertin, Representative, Regional UNODC Office, said.

Internationally, the INCB collects information on seizures of internationally controlled substances sent via mail including those ordered via Internet. To date, the Board has received reports of over 12,000 such seizures. The main country of origin identified for seized pharmaceutical preparations were India, where 58% seizures were made in 2011; followed by the US, China and Poland.

The evidence has been formidably established in India as well. The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) has shut down 10 illegal Internet pharmacies operating in India over the last three years or so. It has discovered that Internet pharmacies were using parcels and couriers to supply their consignments.

“Internet pharmacy is a genuine commercial activity so long as it abides by the law. But we have seized a whopping 152 parcels in 2011 and these were found to be containing 38 kg heroin, 71 kg hashish, one kg cocaine and 41 kg amphetamines. Many of these ordered were made via online pharmacies. It is a huge seizure and indicative of the scale of the problem. Majority pharmacies we shut were being run by top doctors of the cities. They are all in jails now,” Director General, Narcotics Control Bureau OPS Malik said.

Of the Internet pharmacies sealed, two were being run from Chennai; three from Delhi and NCR; one each from Agra, Vadodra and Coimbatore and two from Kolkata.

Malik said while 152 parcels were seized within India, 29 parcels of Indian origin were seized outside in 2011.