The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and international regulators shut down over 1600 illegal online pharmacy websites this week, and seized more than $40 million worth of illegal medicine worldwide, according to a statement by he U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
The authorities seized the offending websites, and posted messages on them warning visitors about the websites’ alleged illegal activities, and the potential harms of buying counterfeit drugs.
Some websites used names similar to some major pharmacy retailers in the United States, such as Walgreens and CVS, to imply an affiliation with these retailers, according to the FDA.