Secretary-General of Interpol Jurgen Stock. File
| Photo Credit: AP

A major Interpol-coordinated crackdown on illicit medicines across 89 countries, including India, has resulted in the arrest of 72 accused persons worldwide and the seizure of potentially dangerous pharmaceuticals worth over $7 million.

The operation has also led to the launch of 325 new investigations and the closure of more than 1,300 criminal websites, according to the Interpol.

“The annual campaign targets illicit medicines that pose a significant threat to consumer safety, including counterfeit medicines and medicines diverted from legal and regulated supply chains. They also represent a major source of income for transnational organised crime groups and support other crime activity,” it said on Tuesday.

Codenamed Operation Pangea XVI, the campaign ran from October 3 to 10. “Erectile dysfunction medications continue to be the most seized medicine globally, accounting for 22% of seizures during the operation. Psychotherapeutic agents such as antidepressants, anti-anxiety medicines and stimulants were a close second at 19%, followed by sex hormones and gastrointestinal medicines at 12 % respectively,” said the Interpol.

“Counterfeit medicines and the misuse of regulated medication is a significant threat to public safety around the world. Operation Pangea XVI removed a large amount of illegal and potentially life-threatening products off the streets and dismantled criminal networks trafficking such goods,” said Jürgen Stock, Interpol Secretary General.

“The operation underlines the continuing need for a coordinated and global response against the threat posed by illicit medicines and transnational organised crime groups,” he said.

During the operation, Europol, the World Customs Organization, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the International Narcotics Control Board, national health regulatory agencies and the Pharmaceutical Security Institute extended additional assistance.

New Delhi:

The International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol, on Monday issued a Red Corner Notice against Karanvir Singh, a member of the banned terrorist group Babbar Khalsa International.

Interpol updated its website by putting out a Red Corner Notice for the Khalistani terrorist.

Singh is believed to be hiding in Pakistan and was a member of the pro-Khalistan terrorist group Babbar Khalsa International, intelligence sources told news agency ANI.

As per the Interpol portal, 38-year-old Karanvir Singh has roots in Punjab’s Kapurthala district.

Further, according to Interpol, Singh is wanted by India for criminal conspiracy, murder, offences related to the Arms Act, and Explosive Substances Act, raising funds for terrorist acts, conspiracy, and being a member of a terrorist gang or organisation.

A Red Corner Notice is a request to the law enforcement authorities of Interpol’s member countries to find and temporarily detain a person until extradition, surrender, or a similar legal process can take place.

Earlier, Interpol issued a Red Notice to all member countries against gangster Himanshu alias Bhau, who is believed to be living abroad.

Giving details, a spokesperson of Haryana Police said Rohtak Police succeeded in getting a Red Corner Notice issued against a most wanted accused, who is believed to have fled abroad.

The Red Corner Notice against the wanted pro-Khalistani terrorist comes amid a diplomatic spat between New Delhi and Ottawa in the wake of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s claim of an India hand in the killing of Khalistani terrorist Hardeep Singh Nijjar.

New Delhi dismissed the allegations, calling them ‘absurd’ and ‘motivated’.

At a news conference in New York, the Canadian PM, however, failed to present any evidence to back his claim of Indian involvement in Nijjar’s killing. Trudeau was repeatedly quizzed on the nature of the allegations but stuck to reiterating that there were “credible reasons” to believe that India was linked to Nijjar’s death.

“There are credible reasons to believe that agents of the Government of India were involved in the killing of a Canadian on Canadian soil. That is …there is something of utmost foundational importance in a country’s rule of law in a world where international rules-based order matters,” Trudeau said.

“We call upon the Government of India to take seriously this matter and to work with us to shed full transparency and ensure accountability and justice in this matter,” the Canadian PM added.

According to CBC News, the Canadian government invested both human and signal intelligence in a months-long investigation into Nijjar’s death. That intelligence includes communications involving Indian diplomats present in Canada.

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday, however, said no information has been shared by Canada with regard to the killing of Nijjar.

“We are willing to look at any specific information that is provided to us, but so far we have received no specific information from Canada,” Arindam Bagchi, the spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said during a briefing.

A designated terrorist in India, Nijjar was shot dead outside a Sikh temple in Surrey, British Columbia, on June 18.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)