By The Associated Press
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP) -- Twenty-two people have been arrested in Thailand for allegedly selling prescription drugs on the Internet and exporting them to the United States, Thai and U.S. officials said Tuesday.

The arrests were the result of a joint operation by U.S. and Thai customs agents, the first case in which the U.S. government had a hand in closing the Web sites of foreign companies exporting drugs that can be bought in the United States only with a prescription.

Tranquilizers, diet pills and steroids were among the drugs the three Internet pharmacies targeted in the sweep were accused of mailing overseas, mostly to customers in the United States, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Six people have also been arrested in the United States for allegedly buying drugs from a Thai Internet pharmacy, she said.

``Many of these Internet pharmacies are fly-by-night operations set up overseas to avoid U.S. law,'' U.S. Customs Service Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in Washington. ``They have little regard for patient safety. They're only interested in making a fast buck, then moving on to the next victim.''

At one of the targets, Bangkok-based Vitality Health Products, 80 percent of online sales went to U.S. buyers, said Kevin Delli-Colli, director of Customs cybersmuggling center in Fairfax, Va.

``We're seeing Valium, fen-phen (the diet drug), Viagra and a lot of anabolic steroids,'' Delli-Colli said. In some cases, the quantities involved ``suggest people are buying them for distribution.''

Prescription drugs are readily available over the counter in Thai pharmacies, despite growing government efforts to regulate pharmaceutical sales.

The 22 suspects, arrested from November through January after almost six months of investigation, face up to five years in jail for violating Thai export regulations, a Thai customs investigator said on condition of anonymity.

U.S. authorities are additionally preparing indictments, as the suspects are also liable for prosecution under U.S. law, the embassy spokeswoman said.

Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan said his government, which is hosting a meeting this week of 20 Asia-Pacific nations on fighting cross-border crime, pledged full support for further cooperation on illegal Internet sales.

``Certainly the cooperation is two-way: we inform each other of the various violations of this nature,'' he said in an interview. The cooperation extends to other crimes as well, such as U.S. tourists who visit Thailand for sex with children, he said.

Thailand and the United States began their joint investigation of online pharmacies after Thai customs officers intercepted parcels of drugs being mailed to the United States in May 1999.

U.S. Customs seized 9,725 packages with prescription drugs mailed to the United States in 1999, compared with 2,145 packages in 1998.

Authorities did not release details about the companies involved in the recent raid.

Among those arrested in Thailand was a Singaporean national who ran one of the online pharmacies. Another company was operated by a British national, who fled the country, the Thai customs officer said.

Dozens of computers and large quantities of drugs, including Viagra and the tranquilizers Xanax and Valium, were seized, he said.

Joint investigations were continuing to identify more online pharmacies suspected of operating illegally in Thailand, the embassy spokeswoman said.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced in February it had sent e-mails to a dozen operators of foreign-based Internet drugstores, warning them they may be engaged in activities illegal under U.S. law.

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" That which does not kill me, will make me stronger"

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Peace,

quote:

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Originally posted by Stew Meat:
By The Associated Press
BANGKOK, Thailand (AP)

The arrests were the result of a joint operation by U.S. and Thai customs agents,

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This type of bullying will not fly with most Eastern, Northern, or especially western European nations.

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