Police arrest four in suspected obesity medication forgery scam – Portugal Resident
Portugal’s Judicial Police (PJ) have arrested four people in the Greater Porto area, including two employees of a private hospital, on suspicion of forging medical prescriptions to obtain subsidised medicines which were then sold on the black market.
In a statement today, the PJ explains that it has carried out a police operation in the Greater Porto area, arresting four people aged between 28 and 52, including two employees of a private hospital in the northern region.
According to the PJ, the suspects, who were arrested as part of an investigation led by the Porto Department of Investigation and Criminal Prosecution, are alleged to have committed various offences, including aggravated fraud, forgery of documents and computer fraud, from at least 2024 to the present day.
“The investigation, conducted by the Northern Directorate of the PJ, focuses on the concerted actions of the suspects who, by abusing the access afforded to them through their roles or that of third parties, forged various types of prescriptions – notably for medicines for obese diabetics – and acquired them at prices subsidised by various health systems or insurance providers,” the statement adds.
According to investigators, the goods acquired were then put up for sale on the black market, generating substantial profits and posing serious health risks to consumers, who were encouraged to self-medicate and take the medicines without proper medical and health supervision.
“The suspects thus devised a criminal racket for their own benefit and that of third parties, to the detriment of the national health service and insurance companies,” the statement concludes.
The PJ also states that those arrested will be brought before the Criminal Investigation Court in Porto for an initial judicial hearing and the imposition of any bail measures deemed appropriate.
LUSA
