OREANDA-NEWS Police officers seized 650 million rubles worth of substandard medical products and narcotic substances from illegal circulation in the country's regions as part of an international operation, according to Irina Volk, a representative of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

"Russian law enforcement agencies took part in the next stage of the large-scale international police operation "Pangea" by Interpol. This allowed for the identification and suppression of 721 offenses, the detention of 57 individuals involved in illegal activities, and the seizure of 657 million rubles worth of substandard medical products and narcotic substances from illicit circulation," she said.

176 criminal cases were initiated.

For example, the police reported conducting 37 searches in the Rostov and Volgograd regions with the support of the Main Directorate for Narcotics Control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia. During the raids, 1,600 prescription forms with signs of forgery, money, computer equipment, communication devices, and medicines worth more than 140 million rubles were seized.

A criminal case was opened against the territorial manager and head of the pharmacy chain, as well as the director and accountant of the pharmacy.

All the operations were carried out by the Ministry of Internal Affairs in cooperation with the Federal Security Service, the Federal Customs Service, and the Federal Service for Supervision of Healthcare Activities throughout the country.