Operation Pangea: 12 arrests after illegal prescription tablets seized

Zopliclone, Pregabalin, Botox and Xanax were among the drugs seized

About £800,000 worth of illegal prescription tablets have been seized during a week-long operation by police in Northern Ireland.

Twelve people have been arrested after 23 properties were searched.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the operation was designed "to disrupt the online sale of counterfeit and unlawful prescription drugs".

It said the 700,000 tablets confiscated had a street value of about £785,000.

The drugs were intercepted as part of an international police action, code-named Operation Pangea.

The prescription drugs seized included Zopliclone, Pregabalin, and Xanax.

Other prescription medications recovered included diazepam, Botox and weight-loss products.

Police officers cut a hole in a door to gain access to a property to search it

PSNI Det Ch Supt Andy Hill, who heads the PSNI's organised crime branch said the seizures "undoubtedly reduced the inevitable harm to people in our communities".

"The figures are a welcome reflection of tremendous collective efforts," he said.

"They're also, however, a worrying sign of the reality and that's the demand for and misuse of prescription drugs."

Operation Pangea is aimed at disrupting the online supply of illegal medicines and raising awareness of the associated health risks.

PSNI Det Ch Supt Andy Hill welcomed the seizures

'Making profit out of misery'

Department of Health (DoH) Permanent Secretary Peter May welcomed the interception of the medicines and urged members of the public not to be tempted by "professional-looking websites offering medicines without prescription".

"The risk of obtaining potentially harmful, fake or substandard medicines without knowing where the tablets have originated or what they really contain is greatly increased where the normal, regulated system is bypassed.

"Illegal suppliers have no quality control or legal standards to abide by."

Richard Pengelly, of the Department of Justice, said: "Making profit out of misery will not go unchallenged.

"The drugs that have been removed from circulation means our communities are safer places today."