By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Police have arrested six suspects after being found in possession of ivermectin tablets worth R6 million at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg .
The suspects – four men and two women – all arrived on flights from India.
Police spokesperson Colonel Athlenda Mathe said the latest arrests were on Thursday when three people were found with ivermectin worth R5m.
Mathe said the first suspect, a woman, had 178,200 tablets of the drug while the second suspect, also a woman, had 66,400 tablets. The man had 49,200 tablets.
The black market in ivermectin has boomed after it was touted as a treatment for Covid-19, at the same time as being unregistered for human use in SA.
The trio appeared in the Kempton Park magistrate’s court on Friday facing charges relating to the contravention of the Medicines and Related Substances Act.
The case was postponed to Monday for a formal bail application.
The first bust was on January 13, when a man was found with 24,000 ivermectin tablets worth R720,000. Mathe said the suspect was out on bail.
The second incident took place on January 26 when two men were arrested after they were found with a variety of unregistered medicines.
The first suspect had 18,085 ivermectin tablets with an estimated value of R552,550. The second had diclofenac sodium, chlorpheniramine maleate and amoxicillin tablets worth R25,000.
Both were arrested and appeared in the Kempton Park magistrate’s court.
Earlier this week, SAHPRA announced that it would facilitated the “controlled use” of ivermectin – which in this country is used as a treatment for parasites in animals – as more and more doctors demanded that they be allowed to dispense it to their patients.
This was in response to urgent appeals by healthcare practitioners and to curb the uncontrolled use of Ivermectin.
SAHPRA CEO Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela said Ivermectin must be procured from a licenced manufacturer before it is prescribed to patients.
“We have put in a mechanism to ensure that the products that become available to the doctors are products whose safety we guarantee. It must be procured from a licenced manufacturer. We have a responsibility to ensure that products that are available in this country are quality and that is why the first tier says whoever brings it in must be licenced,” said Semete-Makokotlela.