MHRA Joins Hands With India’s DRI to Stop Unlicensed Medicines Entering UK

In a move to prevent unlicensed medicines entering the UK, Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) will send intelligence to India’s Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), enabling it to target regions suspected of sending unlicensed medicines into the UK.

The new move to send intelligence to the DRI came after a meeting in Delhi between UK and Indian officials earlier this month.

This is another example of co-ordinated efforts to tackle international medicines crime. The DRI recently seized 350,000 tablets of potent medicines such as diazepam, tramadol and zopiclone destined for UK, European, and US markets.

Rapid mutual intelligence-sharing will help to combat the illegal cross-border trade in medicines, MHRA said.

The UK and India have a longstanding relationship when it comes to collaborating around the issue of medicines. In 2015, both countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), further increasing collaboration in the area of medicines and medical devices and improving public safety.

“DRI works closely with international law enforcement agencies and regulators and MHRA is an important partner in tackling the menace of trade in illegal medicines,” said DRI Additional Director General, Vivek Chaturvedi.

“Our active collaboration with Indian Government agencies sends a strong message to criminals; when we work with our global partners we are able to disrupt criminal activity through the identification, arrest and prosecution of offenders wherever they are,” said MHRA’s Head of Enforcement, Alastair Jeffrey commenting on the new move against international medicines crimes.