South Africa: Foreign nationals nabbed at OR Tambo with ivermectin worth R6m

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South Africa: Foreign nationals nabbed at OR Tambo with ivermectin worth R6m

9:37 CAT | 30 Jan 2021

Image: South African Police Service

In a space of two weeks, six foreign nationals gave been arrested at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg for being in possession of suspected ivermectin tablets worth millions.

Police spokesperson Col Athlenda Mathe said the latest arrests were on Thursday when three people were found with ivermectin worth R5m.

Mathe said the first suspect, a woman, had 178,200 tablets of the drug while the second suspect, also a woman, had 66,400 tablets. The man had 49,200 tablets.

The black market in ivermectin has boomed after it was touted as a treatment for Covid-19, at the same time as being unregistered for human use in SA.

The trio appeared in the Kempton Park magistrate’s court on Friday facing charges relating to the contravention of the Medicines and Related Substances Act.

The case was postponed to Monday for a formal bail application.

The first bust was on January 13, when a man was found with 24,000 ivermectin tablets worth R720,000. Mathe said the suspect was out on bail.

The second incident took place on January 26 when two men were arrested after they were found with a variety of unregistered medicines.

The first suspect had 18,085 ivermectin tablets with an estimated value of R552,550. The second had diclofenac sodium, chlorpheniramine maleate and amoxicillin tablets worth R25,000.

Both were arrested and appeared in the Kempton Park magistrate’s court. Their case has been postponed until Monday for a bail application.

All the suspects had entered the country from India, Mathe said.

#sapsHQ R6 MIL worth of tablets, suspected to be Ivermectin, seized at ORTIA. In the past 2 weeks, joint collaboration has led to the arrest of 6 people and the confiscation of unregistered medicine. MEhttps://t.co/fVm4zraRgp pic.twitter.com/uAXERuLTqz

— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) January 30, 2021

Ivermectin drug busts increase after it was cleared to treat COVID-19 symptoms

Police say R6 million worth of the drug ivermictin has been seized at OR Tambo International Airport over the past two weeks.

The drug has been cleared by the Health Products Regulatory Authority for use in controlled, compassionate circumstances to treat the virus.

Earlier, this month a man, believed to be a Pakistan national was arrested at the King Shaka International Airport in Durban for being in possession of over 2 000 Ivermectin tablets.

“Three people were arrested on Thursday and all three were found to be in possession of Ivermectin with a market value of R5 million. In the first case that was reported on the 13th of January, the team pounced on a man found to be in possession of a little over 24 000 Ivermectin tablets with a market value of R720 000 and in another incident, on Tuesday the 26th, two men were arrested after they were found to be in possession of a variety of unregistered medicines, Ivermectin tablets and antibiotics that are believed to be treating COVID-19” says Police Spokesperson, Athlenda Mathe.

SAHPRA approves use of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19

The South African Health Products Council (SAHPRA) recently announced that it will allow the use of Ivermectin in controlled compassionate circumstances to treat COVID-19.

SAHPRA said it will facilitate an access programme for the drug, known to be used in the treatment of parasites in animals. The council is expected to announce guidelines in the next few days.

Ivermectin is not authorised for human use in South Africa, but some medical practitioners have been calling for it to be used for the treatment of COVID-19.

SAHPRA’s Dr. Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela says there is still a lack of scientific proof on Ivermectin, but that the regulator is on track in assessing its safety.

“So, colleagues what you will note is that as a regulator we are saying we have heard you. We are putting in this compassionate access programme that will be controlled. We will communicate in the next day or so with very clear guidelines in terms of what is controlled going to look like and again, we’ve considered the risk-benefit of having this product available.”

Some medical practitioners want the drug approved to treat COVID-19:

FACTS ABOUT IVERMECTIN

Healthcare workers are calling on government and the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority to allow for the legal use of the human formulation of Ivermectin to treat COVID-19

WHAT IS IVERMECTIN?

* Ivermectin is a widely used drug for the treatment and control of parasites in animals and is used to treat several tropical diseases in humans not commonly seen in SA.

* Ivermectin is a synthetic derivative of the antiparasitic class of compounds known as avermectins.

REGULATIONS

* In SA ivermectin is registered for use under Act 36 of 1947 (Department of Agriculture) for use in animals.

*Only veterinarians and other trained personnel are allowed to prescribe it as an antiparasitic agent for a variety of animals.

*The drug is not currently registered for human use, but SAHPRA occasionally grants Section 21 permits for the use of topical ivermectin as an unregistered product for the treatment of individual patients with conditions such as scabies or head lice.

SAHPRA’S VIEWS ON IVERMECTIN & COVID-19

* Several investigators have reported that when tested in the laboratory, ivermectin inhibits replication of coronavirus.

* In relation to ivermectin use for COVID-19, Ivermectin is not indicated nor approved for use in humans.

*There is no confirmatory data on ivermectin available as yet for its use in the management of COVID-19 infections.

*In terms of safety and efficacy there is no evidence to support the use of ivermectin and we do not have any clinical trial evidence to justify its use.

Source: SAHPRA

Source: TimesLIVE / SABC News