Bt50m worth of illegal diet pills seized in Phitsanulok

[webfact]

Bt50m worth of illegal diet pills seized in Phitsanulok
Mongkolchaowarat Thangmangmee

BANGKOK: -- In a raid yesterday, soldiers and related officials seized Sibutramine-laced diet pills worth Bt50 million in Phitsanulok's Muang district. Consumers have also been urged to drop off any of these pills they may have at the Damrongtham Centre.

The Phitsanulok Health Office also summoned two executives of the manufacturing company to acknowledge the charges against them, while the Revenue Department said it will check to see if the company is up-to-date with its tax payments. It is also checking on the financial transactions of some 3,000 to 4,000 distributors.

Fourth Infantry Division commander Maj-General Nopporn Reunchan said the raid led by 50 soldiers - of the company's office, a townhouse nearby and two warehouses in tambon Aranyik -was prompted by public complaints about these products. The provincial health office later tested the product and found that three samples contained Sibutramine.

Health officials will also warn the public against using this product and ensure all its sales outlets, including those online, are closed, he said.

The Food and Drug Administration has banned Sibutramine since 2010 because it can boost blood pressure and increase the risk of cardiovascular problems.

At a press conference yesterday, Pol Major Woranan Srilam, who is in charge of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI)'s division for special cases, said the DSI had learned that some private firm was posting as many as 3,000 packages every day. So the agency decided to look into the fact, which led to the raid in Phitsanulok yesterday.

Muang Phitsanulok Police Station investigator Pol Colonel Samart Juthes said the provincial health office had pressed five charges against executives Sirinthra Sengsin and Worakorn Yimyoo. The charges are selling fake food, punishable by six months to 10 years in jail and a fine of Bt5,000 to Bt100,000; selling food with inaccurate labels for which the penalty is a Bt30,000 fine; selling impure food, punishable by two years in prison and/or Bt20,000 in fine; unauthorised advertisement of a food product's benefits, punishable by Bt5,000 in fine; and selling cosmetic products with inaccurate label, punishable by three months in jail and/or Bt20,000.

Phitsanulok Revenue official Nitcharee Chinnabutr said initial investigation showed that the company, registered in June last year with a capital of Bt1 million, might have produced diet pills worth a total of Bt500 million, as the products seized yesterday alone were worth Bt50 million. Hence, he said, the Revenue Office will check further to see if the company had paid tax accordingly, and if not it will collect back taxes.

Full story: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Bt50m-worth-of-illegal-diet-pills-seized-in-Phitsa-30248639.html

-- The Nation 2014-11-27

[mikemac]

I wonder what would happen if you overdosed on these "magic" pills, would you disappear ?

And anyone who is vain/lazy/naive/stupid enough to take these pills deserves everything they get, not a slim figure.

[jaltsc]

"The Food and Drug Administration has banned Sibutramine since 2010 because it can boost blood pressure and increase the risk of cardiovascular problems."

No matter how much Thais put down the west, a large segment of the population is becoming more westernized. In many instances they are adopting the worst aspects and habits of the west. Forgoing their traditional diets and lifestyle, they are eating processed and chemically laden foods which cause them to become overweight, leading to obesity, So, the easy way to approach this is the "quick fix" diet pills. This way they don't have to give up their addiction to the foods which are causing their obesity and in their minds they still look like the pencil thin models they see on TV. In some cases, living a "modern" and prosperous lifestyle is not an improvement and in this case can become fatal.

[wgdanson]

So the government want to claim back taxes on illegal products sold ?

[Gandtee]

The police say the chances of catching the robbers are very slim

Edited November 27, 2014 by Gandtee

[bapoboy]

New nannystate where the goverment contro your life, but in west its much more worse.

[vijer]

Sibutramine was originally developed and marketed by Knoll Pharmaceuticals and was most recently manufactured and marketed by Abbott Laboratoriesbefore its withdrawal from the market. It was sold under a variety of brand names including Reductil, Meridia, Siredia, and Sibutrex. It is classified as a Schedule IV controlled substance in the United States.

So my take is that "we", the large drug company, spent millions developing this drug and now we can't sell it in SOME countries, lets keep producing it and sell it to the less enlightened.