Thousands of illegal drugs seized

4 October 2012 Last updated at 08:13 ET

Tens of thousands of illegally imported and unauthorised prescription drugs, destined for Northern Ireland addresses have been seized.

They were seized as part of Operation Pangea V, an international initiative targeting the illegal internet trade in such products.

Drugs recovered in NI included more than 55,000 benzodiazepines.

Pain relief medicines and unidentified psychoactive substances were also confiscated.

Health Minister Edwin Poots made the announcement on Thursday as he launched a publicity campaign to increase public awareness of the dangers of medicines available on the internet.

He said the "risk to the public due to illegal or counterfeit medicines cannot be understated" and the issue could not be tackled by the Department of Health "in isolation".

"This campaign shows the stark reality of buying medicines online," he added.

"The message is clear, it could cost you your life."

A total of 100 countries and 193 agencies participated in Operation Pangea V. It ran from 25 September to 2 October.

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Thousands of illegal drugs seized