The National Police has arrested five people, four in Vitoria-Gasteiz and one in Madrid, as alleged perpetrators of crimes against public health, against industrial property, reception and misappropriation. Those arrested were illegally trading in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. The agents seized more than 40,000 products valued at 180,000 euros that had to be sold in pharmacies and paraphernalia.
The investigation began when police officers from the Alcorcón police station detected that a street market in the town of Madrid was selling portable medicine bags, surgical masks, nebulizers and physiological serums, along with cosmetic articles. These products were marketed without proper control given their characteristics of sanitary use. In response, the company that manufactured and distributed them filed a complaint for infringing their right to industrial property.
More than 40,000 products without proper control
Likewise, in the industrial estate of Cobo Calleja and in a retail market of Fuenlabrada (Madrid) were also detected and intervened more than 30,000 products of this type that had reached a value in the market close to 100,000 euros. Shortly afterwards, in a large building in the industrial estate of the Ali-Gobeo neighborhood, in Vitoria-Gasteiz, researchers from the provincial police station of Álava intervened more than 10,000 pharmaceutical products that were destined for newsstands, neighborhood shops and retail stores in the capital of Álava.
Selling these products also in food stores
In this regard, and in order to remove this material from sale to the public, the researchers inspected various food stores in the neighborhoods of Sansomendi, Coronación and Zaramaga, of Vitoria-Gasteiz, where they also made seizures, since they were sold under the same conditions and without issuing invoices to customers.
As a result of this investigation, the complete neutralization of the risk to public health of the illicit sale of products of this nature, which do not have the authorizations and administrative characteristics to which they are obliged given their own characteristics, has been achieved, thus avoiding the administrative and health controls to which they are subjected.