HONG KONG: Hong Kong customs are following up on a mainland operation that busted an unlicensed Nanjing factory producing fakes of a popular “magic” Chinese drug for those suffering from strokes.
The drug was made for distribution in Guangdong and Hong Kong with police estimating sales to have topped 2.78 million yuan (HK$3.34 million).
It was not immediately clear if any of the fake drugs were circulating in Hong Kong.
Nanjing police went into action after receiving a report of machinery noises coming from an abandoned factory in the Jiangning district.
The police were also informed by the Ministry of Public Security that a Hong Kong company may be involved in drug manufacturing in Nanjing.
The factory, which was found to be producing counterfeit products labeled “An Gung Niu Huang Wan,” had neither a business license nor permits for the production of drugs.
The person in charge, surnamed Hu, later confessed that he had been collaborating with a trade company manager surnamed Cui to produce the drugs.
“The drugs I produce surely have no problem for I know how to make them,” Xinhua Daily quoted Hu as saying.
“I purchased the raw ingredients from an Anhui market and they are processed here into powder, baked and filled into pills before being sent to Hong Kong.”
Cui told police a Hongkonger had given him the formula for making the drug.
Hu was paid 7 yuan for each pill that was produced for less than 2 yuan. But they were eventually sold for about HK$700 each after repackaging.
Cui is now in custody on suspicion of producing and selling counterfeit drugs, while Hu and a relative have been released on bail. A customs spokesman said the department “has grasped the intelligence and appropriate follow-up is being conducted.”
The Vocational Training Council’s Bill Guan De-qi, who specializes in Chinese medicine, said many people buy the drug for emergencies like a stroke or high fever.
“But if taken inappropriately, the drug can aggravate the illness; and if it is fake, it will delay treatment.”
