ACORNHOEK- Authorities made a breakthrough when a 50-year-old pharmacy owner, four employees, two females aged 35 and 44 as well as two males aged 35 and 48 were arrested for Contravention of the Medical and Related Substances Act and Contravention of the regulations relating to the Ownership and Licensing of Pharmacies Act.
The joint operation took place on Thursday, October 9 after a tip-off from the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) about the pharmacy’s unlawful activities.
The HAWKS confirmed that a search warrant was executed at the business.
“Four employees were found behind the counter doing business as usual. The employees could not produce their qualifications to operate in a pharmacy, especially dispensing medicines. The owner was not at his establishment when the warrant was executed, but he was summoned to the scene. On his arrival, he could neither produce the operating license nor valid qualifications. It was established that the pharmacy was not even registered with the South African pharmacy council,” reads a statement.
Scheduled medicines, ranging from schedules 1 to 6, were seized. Currently, the Hawks cannot confirm the value of the seized medicines as further investigation and expert analysis is still to be conducted.
