ICA Officers Seize A Total Of 23,100 Ivermectin Tablets
Earlier this month, a lady was hospitalised after reportedly taking Ivermectin to protect herself from Covid-19.
However, despite the incident and warnings from authorities, there remains a group that believes the antiparasitic drug is effective.
Between 10 Sep and 6 Oct, several Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) officers managed to foil 5 attempts of importing Ivermectin into Singapore.
The cases have been referred to the Health Sciences Authority (HSA) for further investigations.
ICA detected Ivermectin tablets in postal parcels
On Tuesday (19 Oct), ICA posted on Facebook about their success in foiling 5 attempts of smuggling 23,100 Ivermectin tablets into Singapore.
They were caught while passing through Changi Airfreight Centre and Airmail Transit Centre (Air Cargo Command). ICA officers found that the buyers either failed to declare the items or labelled them as ‘healthcare products’.
2,000 tablets detected on 6 Oct
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However, since Ivermectin is not authorised by HSA, anomalies were detected in the scanned images of the products.
A total of 6,700 tablets seized on 10 and 13 Sep
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The smugglers also attempted 2 other drugs – Hydroxychloroquine and Mycophenolate Mofetil – into Singapore.
ICA’s haul on 2 Oct included 12,000 Ivermectin tablets
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HSA also investigating
The cases were later flagged up to HSA for further investigations.
Since HSA takes a very serious view against whoever illegally imports, sells and supplies medicines, including Ivermectin, they said they would take strong enforcement action against those who are guilty.
To ensure Singapore’s community remains safe, ICA will continue to be on the lookout for attempts to smuggle items across the borders.
Follow advice given by official health authorities
Though it is understandable why people are desperate to protect themselves from Covid-19, they should not believe baseless claims by non-medical experts.
Since the authorities have already warned the public about the consequences of taking Ivermectin to fight the virus, it is important to heed their advice.
Thank you to our ICA officers for protecting the Singapore community.
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Featured image adapted from Immigration & Checkpoints Authority on Facebook.
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