MINNEAPOLIS— U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in Minneapolis recently seized a shipment containing more than 9,000 medications worth more than $6,000.
CBP officers inspected the shipment arriving from Thailand. The parcel, manifested as Herbal Candy, was inspected to determine if the goods were admissible in accordance with CBP regulations. The parcel was addressed to a residence in St. Paul and included 1,000 Nitaquin-Chloroquine Phosphate tablets, 1,200 Vistar B Complex pills, 24 Tiffy Dey Syrup bottles, 12 Benda Mebendazole capsules, 200 Noxa 20 Piroxicam pills, 200 Tiffy Dey Paracetamol tablets, 200 Penicillin v500,000 units, 120 Amoxy-P Amoxicillin capsules, 1,000 Folic Acid tablets, 200 Decolgen Prin Paracetamol tablets, 4,000 Cemol capsules, and 1,000 Biovit B6 Pyridoxine Hydrochloride pills; a total of 9,156 pills.
This shipment contained commercial quantities of over-the-counter medications with no U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) notification and CBP officers seized the shipment on February 16. The FDA requires prior notice on the quantities that are imported, and this shipment contained commercial quantities of medications with no prescription with the shipment. Medications purchased from online sources may not meet pharmacological specifications and safeguards that ensure the protection of human health. Additionally, prescription medications manufactured by non-regulated foreign companies often contain dangerous contaminants or ineffective compounds, and though their packaging and labelling can be similar to genuine products, inconsistent ingredients and sub-par quality controls can cause harm to consumers.
Augustine Moore, Area Port Director-Minneapolis, stressed the importance of CBP’s presence in stopping these shipments. “The FDA has rules in place to protect the American consumer, and CBP will enforce those rules to ensure medication that is arriving at our port of entry is regulated and safe.”
CBP's border security mission is led at ports of entry by CBP officers from the Office of Field Operations. Please visit CBP Ports of Entry to learn more about how CBP’s Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders. Learn more about CBP at www.CBP.gov.