Some 95 Health Products and Technologies (HPT’s) distribution outlets in the coast region have been issued with closure notices by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board.
The Board arrested 70 individuals, who are expected to be prosecuted in different courts in the region.
This is after regulatory inspectors from the board led a multi-agency team, comprising the police, Judiciary officials and ODPP officers, in a crackdown targeting illegal HPT’s distribution outlets in the region.
In the operation, which began on Sunday, the team seized at least 100 cartons of assorted HPT’s.
Mtwapa, Likoni, Mshomoroni, Kisauni and Bamburi areas in Mombasa were found to have a high concentration of pharmacies operating illegally.
The seized medicines will be analyzed and disposed of as guided through the issued court orders and in accordance with the Poisons board’s guidelines on disposal of pharmaceutical waste.
Senior Inspector of Drugs Head of Nairobi Region Julius Kaluai said they targeted drug distribution outlets, including illegal chemists, clinics, herbal medicine stores and cosmetic shops.
“For the last three days, we have been conducting raids to ensure that the regulations and law in regards to pharmacy practice are adhered to,” said Kaluai.
He said they had to change tactics and avoid using the board’s branded vehicles to arrest culprits.
“In some premises that we stormed, we found people had already fled. They remain closed until they meet the required standards. The list will be made public for police to enforce the closure notices,” he said.
Kaluai warned individuals planning to remove the closure notices.
“Those notices should not be removed or defaced until such a time when the board will ascertain that the premises and the individuals have adhered to our regulation,” he said.
He said there was a need to bring on board other stakeholders in the crackdown, especially the police and the Judiciary to effectively prosecute offenders.
He added that they noticed that several registered wholesalers were selling drugs to the illegal operators, saying they will face the law.
“We have sampled some invoices from the premises, and disciplinary action will be taken against the wholesalers. Let them know it won’t be business as usual,” he said.
The board’s coast region head Dr Agoro Paddy said that pharmacy business is a matter of public health, and there was a need to ensure that they are secured.
“We will conduct weekly raids to ensure that our people are safe,” said Paddy.
