HomeNewsBriefCoronavirus Stokes Colombia's Black Market Medicine Trade
BRIEF

Coronavirus Stokes Colombia's Black Market Medicine Trade

COLOMBIA / 16 APR 2020 BY JUAN DIEGO CÁRDENAS EN

The seizures of several illegal shipments of medicine in Colombia's northern department of La Guajira has shown that one of the country's least-discussed criminal economies could rapidly expand during the coronavirus pandemic.

In March, two shipments were seized in the municipalities of Maicao and Riohacha, police officials said in a news report. The pharmaceuticals were valued at eight billion pesos (about $2 million) and destined for La Guajira and neighboring Venezuela.

That same month, Colombian customs authorities made a series of seizures of US-sourced contraband medicine in the northern Cesar department, which also borders Venezuela. Antibiotics and over-the-counter anti-inflammatories were seized, including the pain reliever acetaminophen, known internationally as paracetamol, which has been recommended to reduce fevers associated with the coronavirus. 

SEE ALSO: Colombia Busts Fake Medicine Ring Worth Millions

According to Colombia's El Tiempo newspaper, failures in Colombia's healthcare system make it easy to cover up the illegal sales of medicine as it is highly difficult to track such shipments.

“[Prosecutors] have detected a significant amount of these medications being imported by pharmacies located in border cities or ports,” Raúl González Flechas, a prosecutor from the Attorney General's Office in Medellín, told El Tiempo.

The smuggling of medicine into Colombia is common. In August 2019, Colombian prosecutors dismantled a medicine contraband ring in the cities of Medellín, Cartagena and Santa Marta, which allegedly brought in expired medicine from Venezuela and Ecuador, El Comercio reported.

In February 2019, General Juan Carlos Buitrago, then-director of Colombia's Tax and Customs Police (Policía Fiscal y Aduanera -- Polfa), told Blu Radio that Venezuelan officials were likely involved in this type of contraband.

"We have seen contraband gangs that have connections like with other types of products ... there are gangs which involve high-ranking authorities of the Venezuelan government, that distribute these products ... in Colombia," said Buitrago.

InSight Crime Analysis

Given the omnipresence and diversity of contraband in Colombia, medicine smuggling has received less attention. But the black market trade in pharmaceuticals -- facilitated by corrupt government officials, health workers and criminal gangs -- is primed to increase amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a September 2019 report published by Caracol Radio, medicine is siphoned off by Colombian healthcare providers (Instituciones Prestadoras de Salud -- IPS) who write prescriptions for greater amounts of drugs than needed and then hold on to the excess. These medicines are then illegally sold on to private doctors and clinics.

SEE ALSO: What Does Coronavirus Mean for Criminal Governance in Latin America?

Another method involves corruption within pharmaceutical laboratories, where the medicine is diverted to criminal gangs. 

The Colombian police has reported having carried out 1,393 operations against the illegal sale of medicine since the start of President Iván Duque's term in August 2018.

Colombia also maintains 16 checkpoints dedicated to combating contraband and smuggling along its borders with Ecuador and Venezuela.

Such a general approach to combating smuggling is unlikely to be enough, given the many remote trails through which drugs, migrants and other contraband is consistently moved.

Instead, Interpol has called for specific actions to crack down on the medicine trade, warning that the coronavirus pandemic risks seeing a global rise in healthcare-related crimes.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 28 JUN 2021

After three decades of living in the shadows, Guillermo Acevedo has been caught. Our Co-director, Jeremy McDermott reveals how it…

EXTORTION / 27 JAN 2023

The Carlos Capa gang is one of the oldest surviving criminal gangs in Valles del Tuy, south of Caracas in…

COLOMBIA / 6 MAY 2022

After the Urabeños’ former leader, alias Otoniel, was extradited to the United States this week, the group ordered a show…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report continues to be a reference in the region

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Staff Cited as Experts by International Media

21 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime deputy editor, Juan Diego Posada, was interviewed by the Associated Press about connections between the ex-FARC mafia and Brazilian criminal groups, and…