Author: Klevis Paloka
"The prescription that the doctor signed for me at the time when our family was affected by Covid, I remember that it suggested favira", Artani tells "Signalizo". According to the 43-year-old, in a not too distant time but something around January 2021, he followed a not-so-secret scheme that had taken over the country. Through the family doctor's order, he bought the antivirals that are not available in private pharmacies that kept the drugs in pharmaceutical warehouses. "For us, it didn't matter if they were approved or not, we needed drugs and we would buy them at any price." remembers the young man for whom, like dozens of citizens affected by the Sars Covid-2 virus, the term contraband had no meaning, or their multiple value that burdened anyone's pockets. However, the data of "Sinjalizo" show how many medicines for the cure of Covid, or the side problems left by the virus, were "imported" secretly from Greece and Turkey and the black market flourished, as it still does.
An investigation by the prosecutor's office in Tirana, spanning nine months in time, attempted to crack down on the ways in which drugs were brought into Albania and therefore infiltrated undercover agents.
"Crime agents, code-named due to secrecy, landed at several pharmacies through methods of posing as an ordinary customer who had health problems and there the antiviral drugs were purchased.", says one of the police officers of the capital. The official mentions that the arrest warrants that were signed were only related to the conditions of flagrante delicto, and then they only sent the suspects to the cell for a few hours. Five of them were pharmaceutical warehouse administrators, specifically citizens Blerim Bitri, 40-year-old pharmacy administrator, Florian Marku also in the same position, Florian Lila, Bashkim Osmani and Sokol Topçiu. The other two are suspected of other roles during smuggling, such as Margarita Xhaxhiu, suspected of being a drug courier, and Jani Papuli, a pharmacist. However, a few hours after the police uproar that announced the arrests for the production and trade of counterfeit drugs and medical equipment dangerous to health as well as the trade and transport of contraband goods, the criminal judge released them all and sent them away with measures mild house arrest. "The judge assigned several tasks - declared one of the lawyers of the case for "Sinjalizo" - such as receiving an answer from the National Medicines Agency.
But from the monitoring of "Sinjalizo", although this institution has the task of guaranteeing the population with safe, high-quality and efficient drugs, to control the production, import-export and distribution of drugs, to control their quality and to monitor the efficacy of drugs used during the pandemic period, it turns out that there was no official report on the phenomenon of black market drugs, with which Albanians were cured. At the same time, AKBPM did not inform and sensitize the population and health institutions and health professionals, as well as had an invisible role to ensure the sale of medicines at unified prices and to fight smuggling" writes one of the citizens in complete anonymity on the "Sinjalizo" platform. .
Whether or not the inspection was carried out in the pharmaceutical field during the pandemic and whether or not pharmacovigilance worked, this will be clear with documentary papers, following the court's request for the list of medicines that were bought by the investigative groups in a stimulated form.
What was bought and what is suspected to be smuggled...
The medicines that were sold to the agents infiltrated in the pharmacies under investigation and that were seized are found in the investigation file to be "Inhixa, Clexane, Favira, Alphagan, Cyrotex, Aricept, Medrol, Coaprovel". Most of them, according to the description of the Prosecutor's Office of Tirana, are said to be medications that serve to treat COVID-19 and were sold in the market at a price many times higher than what they were bought for.
This fact was also confirmed by sources from Economic Crime and that there is no figure for the economic damage to the state and citizens.
"They were sold 10 times more expensive than their price, if one of the medicines in other countries costs 25 dollars, here it was sold for 250 dollars. But there were also those that were sold for 3 times their real price. We cannot have a figure for the economic damage, since for 10 months these pharmacies have been selling medicines continuously, but I can say that the economic damage is staggering, both to the state and to the citizens.", a source from Economic Crime emphasizes for "SIGNALIZO".
In the file of the Prosecutor's Office of Tirana, it is said that these pharmacies were mainly located in Tirana, but also in the city of Kamza.
The pharmacies that were discovered to be involved in this scheme are: "Flori Farma" located on "Zogu i Parë" Boulevard, "StoreFarma" located on "Rruga Kastrioti", "Farmanet" on "Bajram Curri" Boulevard, "Elda Pharmacy" ” to “Rruga e Durrës, and “Farmaci Bliri” in Kamez.
Purchases that were made in a stimulated manner and were carried out by the officers more than 5 times for various anti-Covid medicines that were not registered or that could be available in pharmaceutical warehouses.
Although the court ordered the verification and despite the prosecution's insistence that the drugs are not on the list of approved drugs and are therefore considered contraband, ACQJ conducted a simple monitoring. From there it is clear that none of the seized medications "Inhixa, Clexane, Favira, Alphagan, Cyrotex, Aricept, Medrol, Coaprovel” are not in list of approved drugs to be marketed without a medical prescription from the Ministry of Health.
While some of them do not even belong as registered drugs to be used in Albania, as they are Alphagan, Cyrotex and Favira.
ACQJ also contacted the lawyer of one of the arrested, Ardian Visha, but he refused to give a comment on this matter.
So, the Albanian Center for Quality Journalism managed to learn that in addition to these pharmacies, there are also about 50 other pharmacies under investigation which are suspected of selling these medications in a contraband manner in the Tirana area.
"But it doesn't matter to me whether it's contraband or not, what effect the medicine had or even how expensive I bought it", adds Artani for "Sinjalizo", recalling that the relevant agency had to exercise not only controls but also awareness. "I am currently cured of tension, I don't know if this was caused by Covid, or by the doses of medicine that I took as if they were vitamins.", closes the former patient who was cured over the phone by the doctor he chose and who sometimes prescribed medicines that he himself ran to buy.
Stocks and plans
About 3 years ago, the Ministry of Health and Social Protection started an action where it started a war against all pharmacies for drugs that were sold in the black market but also without a doctor's prescription.
More one order of the minister Ogerta Manastirliu, during the period September 2018 to June 2019, 4 task forces were set up. These task forces, which operated for only a few months, managed to impose several fines with a total value of 1.5 million lek for giving medicines without a doctor's prescription and for selling medicines without a stamp.
Ironically, this task force is no longer in force at this very time when the drug market has also taken on huge proportions due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
A report of the High State Control highlights the fact that for 2020, at the height of the pandemic and the trade of contraband drugs, the National Agency has not conducted any analysis.
"For a period of about 11 months, the institution has not performed analyzes of drugs imported/produced in the country, pharmaceutical raw materials, drugs according to market surveys, etc., which does not guarantee the safety and required quality of the drugs offered on the market. The low number of tests during 2019 and their complete absence during 2020. The lack of tests in the long term has important impacts on the preservation of the health of the population and they cannot justify the complete cessation of tests", highlighted in the KLSH report.
ACQJ also contacted the National Agency of Medicines and Medical Devices to ask about the checks carried out during this 9 month period in all pharmacies of the country, but especially in Tirana, but until the moment of publication of this article there was no answer.
Doctors: Medicines should be given without a prescription
For doctor Ilir Alimehmehti, this should not have happened since none of these medications can be given without a doctor's prescription.
"None of these medications can be given without a doctor's prescription. Each medication has its own characteristics, for which it is enough to read the accompanying leaflet. Hospital medications should absolutely not be used on an outpatient basis. All indications, contraindications and possible side effects are evaluated by the attending physician", says doctor Ilir Alimehmeti.
In fact, the numerous testimonies of citizens affected by Covid-19 show exactly this. Medicines sold over the phone and without leaving a trace like a prescription would.
The question that remains unanswered is why these pharmacies were allowed for a long time to sell smuggled drugs and why none of the institutions charged with the law not only did not control, but at least did not sensitize the citizens about the drugs being sold. The economic damage, in addition to the effects that these drugs may have left, is another problem that was once again billed in the pockets of Albanians. It seems that the only ones that worked were the media like ACQJ that has denounced on the issue of drug trafficking sold black, even drugs that are not allowed at all, such as the case of the drug "Favira", caught in these pharmacies, but not approved by the Medicines Agency.
