Death for 6 Chinese traders faking 'Made in India' tags

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/china/China-gives-death-penalty-to-6-traders-for-selling-fake-drugs-in-Nigeria-using-Made-in-India-labels/articleshow/5323814.cms

Death for 6 Chinese traders faking 'Made in India' tags
Saibal Dasgupta, TNN 10 December 2009, 08:13pm IST


BEIJING: Six Chinese traders who exported fake anti-malaria drugs to Nigeria under the "Made in India" label have been sentenced to death, the ministry of commerce in Beijing has said. But the ministry gave no further details about the identity of the traders.

The issue became a major controversy last June when Nigeria's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control said it had seized a large consignment of spurious anti-malaria drugs worth $210,000. The drugs came from China and were distributed in Nigeria tagged "Made in India".

The Chinese government apologized to Nigeria and promised a thorough investigation and punishment of those involved. But Chinese officials insisted India should share responsibility, as some Indians have also been found exporting fake drugs to Nigeria.

Officials of the Indian Commerce Ministry said they had had received complaints about Chinese firms offloading counterfeit drugs as Indian products in South Africa, Ghana, Ivory Coast and other African countries.

Media reports quoted Paul Orhii, Director-General of Nigeria’s National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control, describing the action as a case of “tremendous progress” in the campaign against fake and counterfeit drugs.

"Those people in China are facing death penalty. The India parliament also passed a law for manufacturing of counterfeit drugs. It will be difficult for Nigerian drug traffickers to go to India. In China, it is even worst the counterfeiter will be facing death penalty,” he was quoted as saying at a conference in his country.

Between 2001 and 2007, the Nigerian government banned about 30 Indian and Chinese pharmaceutical companies for exporting fake drugs. But sections of the Indian industry claimed they have suffered loss of reputation because of malpractices of Chinese exporters using the “Made in India” label to cover up their misdeeds.