The Macau Customs Service said in a statement yesterday that its officers, in conjunction with inspectors of the Health Bureau (SSM), have seized 986 illegally imported pharmaceutical products from five shops.
During a joint operation to inspect various shops in the city on Tuesday, the customs officers and health inspectors discovered that five shops were selling pharmaceutical products which did not have import permits, according to the statement, which noted that a total of 986 such items – comprising 34 kinds of Western medicine products and 43 kinds of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) products – were seized, primarily painkillers, cough syrup, pain relief plasters and Chinese medicated oil products.
The statement said that the five shops had illegally imported the pharmaceutical products, adding that they also illegally sold medicines – without obtaining a licence from the Health Bureau to run a pharmacy.
Meanwhile, the custom officers and health inspectors also seized 670 untaxed packs containing a total of 13,400 cigarettes from three of the five shops, involving unpaid tax of 20,100 patacas, the statement said, adding that all of them are of well-known brands.
