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Organized Crime and Counterfeit Medicines. Zagreb, 4th june 2013 IRACM, Ambassade de France en Croatie Eric Przyswa Associate Researcher MINES ParisTech Crisis and Risk Research Center e ric.przyswa@mines-paristech.fr. Plan. I . Organized crime and counterfeit medicines
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Organized Crime and CounterfeitMedicines Zagreb, 4th june 2013 IRACM, Ambassade de France en Croatie Eric Przyswa AssociateResearcher MINES ParisTech Crisis and RiskResearch Center eric.przyswa@mines-paristech.fr
Plan I. Organized crime and counterfeitmedicines I.1. Small Organized crime (two to five people). I.2. « Medium- Sized » Organized crime (aroundten people) I.2.a. Wuppertal case I.2.b. Bellavoine case I.2.c. Peter Gillespie case I.3. Transnational organized crime I.3.a. RxNorth case I.3.b. The «Jordanian-Chinese » and « Avastin» organisations I.4. China : Kevin Xu case II. Cybercrime II.1. Crisis case II.2. Glavmed, SpamIt III. Summary about organized crime Conclusion
I.1. Small Organized crime (two to five people). - Example : Mimi Trieu, Philadelphia USA - BetweenOctober 2008 and May 2009, importedfrom China and sold cheap fakepills for diet. - Shesold1 750 000 pills, value 245 000 dollars, claimingthat the pillswere made in Japan. In fact the pillshaddangerousingredients (sibutramine). - Suchlittle business can have strong impact.
I.2. « Medium- Sized » Organized crime (aroundten people) 1.2.a. Wuppertal case, Germany 2007 « Grand banditisme » Business organization. Logistics, Ecommerce, finance. 1.2.b. Bellavoine case. « Business Opportunity » Since 2004 more than 4 tonnes of counterfeitmedicines made in China distributed in UK, Germany, Belgium, Switz., UAE… Partners in USA and France (Nice).
I.2. « Medium- Sized » Organized crime (aroundten people) 1.2.c. Peter Gillespie case, UK - Betweendecember 2006 and may 2007, this pharma distributorimported 72 000 packages of counterfeitmedecines more than 2 millions dosesof counterfeitmedecines. - Profit : around 5 million dollars. - Importedfrom China via Hong Kong, Singapore and Belgium. Packaged as French medicines. - 25 000 packaged of counterfeitmedicines have been sold to the official pharma networks and hospitals in UK.
I.3. Transnational organized crime I.3.a. RxNorthcase - June 2006, Bahamas police investigation PersonalTouchPharmacy, distribution center of RX North. - 3 millions doses of counterfeitmedicines and 13 pharma companiesinvolved. - Counterfeitmedicines value: 3,7 million dollars. - On line Pharma, RX North (Andrew Strempler).
Free Trade Zones Ease Passage of CounterfeitDrugs to U.S.Source : Walt Bogdanich, TheNew York Times, 17 décembre, 2007
I.3. Transnational organized crime I.3.b. The « Jordanian-Chinese » and « Avastin » organisations - US invasion Irak 2003. - Smuggling: Syria and Jordania IrakianmedicinesdistributorKimadia. - JordanianWajee Abu Odee, Sky Park Hong Kong. - Between 2003 and 2007 traffic in 7 countries : Irak, Syria, Jordania, Lebanon, Egypt, UEA, Palestine. - 2007-2009 : trafficisgrowing in the Middle East.
2007 Middle East Distribution NetworkSource : Roger Bate, Phake:The Deadly World of Falsified and SubstandardMedicines, The AEI Press, 2012, p. 219.
CounterfeitMedicines2009 Middle East Distribution Network Source : Roger Bate, Phake:The Deadly World of Falsified and SubstandardMedicines, The AEI Press, 2012, p. 221.
CounterfeitAvastin NetworkSource: Benoit Faucon, Jeanne Whalen, « FakeAvastinTookMurkyPath to U.S. » , TheWall Street Journal, 5 avril 2012.
Network distribution between UK and USASource: Christopher Weaver et Jeanne Whalen, « Drug DistributorisTied to Imports of FakeAvastin », TheWall Street Journal, 7th march 2012.
I.4. China: transnational traffic, Kevin Xu case - Kevin Xu, Orient Pacific Oriental - Production capacity: 200 000 boxes, one million pills for one delivery. - Focus more and more on « high-value » counterfeitmedicines and on the USA market(with 29 products). - Marketing approach. - Xu wasalsoinvolved in legalactivitieswithChinesehospitals(genericmedicines).
II. Cybercrime II.1. Crisiscases • July 2009: H1N1 crisis, in the UK 1 400 % growth of research on Internet, many Internet users russiancybercrimewebsites. Source : Graham Cluley, « Swine flu fears making millionaires out of Russian hackers, Naked Security Blog », Sophos, 16 novembre, 2009. - March 2011, Fukushima nuclear accident, counterfeitmedicinesold online (Premium Zeonite).
II. Cybercrime II.2. Glavmed, SpamIt - Igor Gusev, Chronopayco-founder - Both networks were the leadingcriminalorganizations. - Concept : affiliated network of illicit pharmas on line - SpamItwas in charge of « darkactivities » (spam) for illicit pharma on line (Canadian Pharmacy). - Glavmedwas more the « honorable window » for affiliated pharma programmes.
II. Cybercrime II.2. Glavmed, SpamIt - SpamIthad 1,5 millions of ordersfrom 800 000 customersbetween May 2007 and June2010. - Most « successful » SpamItaffiliatedcouldearnmonthlybetween 5 000 dollars and 50 000 dollars. - 2 500 affiliatedwere part of Glavmed network. - Glavmed profit: 1 million dollars in 2011.
SummaryOrganized Crime • CybercrimeOrganization - Someorganizations are fullydedicated to cybercrimeactivitieswith agressive techniques searchengines manipulation / (Glavmed), someothers use more Internet has a distribution toolin connectionwith transnational logistics networks (RX North, Wuppertal…). - Fragmentation of crime on Internet - Democratization of cybercrimetools - Independent cells on Internet - Link between « low-profile » criminals and « high-profile » criminals - Automatization of illicitprocess on Internet
SummaryOrganized Crime Mafia question - Involved in counterfeit - Involved in healthindustry - No real evidence of Italian mafias involved in counterfeitmedicines - Typicalmistake of analysis: a. To consider transnational organized crime as a scapegoat of globalization and have a static vision of it. b. To have a conspiracy vision of suchorganizations.
SummaryOrganized Crime 3. Links between « virtual » and « real » organized crimes - Difficult to analyzesuch links, « meeting points » ? - It seemsthatthereis no transnational criminalorganizationmerging « virtual » and « real » networks in a stable way. - Ironicallyitismore easy to watchorganized crime involved on Internet that the onesinvolved in « real » traffics
Conclusion • Lack of vision of about criminal networks a need to rethinktraditionalfrontiers of criminology (marginality, new kind of white collar crime…). • Not to focus anti counterfeiting actions on traditionalorganized crime but to also focus on licitactors supplychain audit. 3. There is a need for more variousscholarsinvolved in analysis, Michigan University (Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection Program). • Intelligence Information needs to be more centralized Innovation : Dynamiccartography, psychological profiles of counterfeiters ? 5. Holistic vision, cooperative actions.
Conclusion • Norms on Internet, to involveconsumers in action. 7. UK/US references: flexibility and independence avoidbureaucracy and routine reflex of investigation. 8. Politicalwill.
“Our sensesenable us to perceiveonly a minute portion of the outside world” Nikola TeslaWork in progress…Thankyou. eric.przyswa@mines-paristech.fr AssociateResearcher MINES ParisTech Crisis and RiskResearch Center