Thursday April 6, 2006
New Zealand authorities seize illegal Chinese drug imports
WELLINGTON (AP) - Health authorities in New Zealand said Thursday they have filed charges against distributors of Chinese-manufactured abortion and contraception pills illegally imported into the country.
Director General of Health Karen Poutasi also issued a formal notice warning women against taking pills obtained without medical advice, which could have dangerous side-effects.
The warning was issued after the drugs, labeled in Chinese and apparently originating in China, were seized by police and customs as they entered the country.
Health Ministry spokesman Derek Fitzgerald said the seized pills included two morning-after emergency contraceptives, three abortion pills and one contraceptive pill.
The ministry warned that the medicine could cause birth defects, and urged women who had taken the abortion pills but were still pregnant to consult a doctor.
The distributors, whose identities were not released, are due in court next month on several charges.
The charges include supplying medicines unproven in New Zealand and supplying prescription-only medicine without a prescription, Fitzgerald said.
They also face one charge under the Crimes Act of supplying the means to procure an abortion.
There was no immediate indication of the penalties they could face if convicted. Some of the pills contained Levonorgestrel, legally available in New Zealand from a doctor as a morning-after pill to prevent pregnancy following unprotected sex.
Two strengths of the drug Mifepristone, used to terminate a pregnancy up to 49 days in gestation, were also identified by investigators.
Both strengths are not available in New Zealand.
Poutasi said that consumers could be exposed to substantial health risks if they take medicine without diagnosis and advice from a doctor.
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