Thank you for the post Aspirin, and for the information. The news media tends to over-generalize these things, and while this is certainly newsworthy for all of us as IOP customers, it's also important to fully understand what is really involved here. As they say, "the devil is in the details". This Interpol operation is actually nothing new, as indicated by the "V" designation in the operation name. The following link is to the Interpol site, which describes the operation, the general results, as well as similar details on the previous 4 incarnations of this initiative.
http://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Pharmaceutical-crime/Operations/Operation-Pangea
The primary focus here, at least in terms of results obtained, is the seizure of counterfeit medication and the shut down of the lab operations manufacturing them. The "18,000 websites shut down", or however they phrased it, is a common component of operations like this, with LE identifying and seizing URL's en masse in order to create sensational sounding numbers for press release fodder. Understand that they did NOT shut down 18,000 active vendors and their websites. As frightening as it is from a legal perspective, there is zero burden of proof required for the US government to seize domains using the Patriot Act. They simply identify "suspicious" target site owners / operators citing a "potential terrorism support threat", submit a list to a Federal judge who issues a probable cause affidavit, and then The Department of Justice goes to Verisign, which, by the way, is based in Washington, DC, and tells them to hand them over and transfer them to the DOJ server. That's it. No due process, and they can obtain these large numbers because it's common for vendor groups and trafficking rings to control literally hundreds or even thousands of domains. In this particular case, if you do your homework, you'll see that only 22 individuals and corporate entities around the world controlled all of the domains, and fewer than two dozen were active primary sales websites. The rest were parked or were re-direct / pointer domains. I'm not passing judgment one way or another in terms of whether the seizures were warranted, but the numbers involved are simple sensationalism, plain and simple.
Beyond those elements, notice as well that their means of "shutting down" websites or vendor operations wasn't necessarily via prosecution or seizure, but by strong arming the payment providers such as Visa, PayPal, etc., into closing their merchant service accounts. I could go on for hours breaking down the actual operation data to illustrate what it does or does not mean to us here at DBG, but I'll just summarize and ask that you take my word for it. The bottom line is that the majority of the vendors we patronize were not, and won't be, impacted by this operation, particularly the Mexican vendors. These on-going initiatives will ultimately catch up to the likes of some of the vendors discussed here who are selling half bunk, occasionally legitimate meds out of South Africa, Eastern Europe, India and Southeast Asia, as well as some in Europe and elsewhere that are legitimate vendors, but who rely on traditional payment processing services like Visa, PayPal, etc.
When the dust settles, the real impact of this will be the forcing of the legitimate vendors further underground. A good example of this are the SY vendors, who, by and large, have taken their websites offline. There are some that are still up, but soon than later, you'll see them shut them down and go to email only, having established a customer base. Vendors will increasingly rely on forums such as this, as well as other boards, to promote themselves as email only sources. Where there is significant demand and significant money, supply will always find a way, even in gray and black markets. It's simple economic fact. In my opinion, the biggest complication and headache that vendors and customers will face in the near term is on the payment processing side. As we've seen on the board as recently as today, Money Gram and Western Union are identifying and blocking receivers, largely in an attempt to cover their own a** under US Bank Secrecy Laws and Anti-Money Laundering Laws, not to mention The Patriot Act. As LE leans on the payment providers, there will be hiccups and inconveniences, and ultimately, they'll be an increased push towards alternative currency like bitcoin, as well as new, non-traditional payment service providers in friendlier jurisdictions.
One way or another, market forces will prevail. The "War on Drugs" is a war alright. A public relations war, and it's only on that battlefield that LE is able to find any victories. The truth of the matter is that this recent incarnation of what amounts to a bi-annual international LE block party has the same net effect of a fly landing on an elephant's a**. Vendors and suppliers certainly have their webmaster's registering new URL's as we speak, and new counterfeit labs have already replaced those shut down. And as a final note, the 3 million odd counterfeit pills that were confiscated in this operation represent less than two week's production capacity of Watson's smallest manufacturing facility. I realize we're talking about back alley labs and not conglomerate manufacturers here, but the fact remains that it took several years and tens of millions of dollars to ramp up this operation, only to eliminate what will be replaced, in total, before the end of the month.
So fellow members, stay diligent, stay informed, remain calm and carry on. Information is your most valuable asset, and your best weapon in the battle for continued access to the products we need for healthy, productive lives.
Jewy
