Illegal imports of weight-loss drugs top 5,000 through Aug.: customs agency
Korea's customs agency said Thursday the number of attempted illegal imports of weight-loss medications, such as Wegovy and Mounjaro, surged from a year earlier to exceed 5,000. A total of 5,030 cases involving the illegal import of weight-loss drugs through overseas direct purchases and other illicit channels were detected in the January-August period, far exceeding the 1,189 cases tallied for…
Korea's customs agency reported a sharp increase in illegal imports of weight-loss drugs, surpassing 5,000 cases from January to August. The agency detected 5,030 instances of unauthorized imports of medications like Wegovy and Mounjaro, compared to just 1,189 cases throughout all of the previous year. Customs officials are collaborating with the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety to enhance inspections of imported medications, aiming to safeguard public health from unauthorized products.
Despite prohibitions on bringing Wegovy and Mounjaro into the country via travelers' hand luggage, more Koreans have been attempting to purchase the drugs from neighboring nations due to price discrepancies. The customs agency employs X-ray scans and baggage inspections, returning or discarding any products that fail to meet import requirements. Should violations exceed mere compliance failures, additional measures will be enforced.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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