THE Terengganu Health Department seized 544 types of unregistered cosmetic products and medicines worth RM954,727 last year.

Its director Dr Kasemani Embong said the seizures were carried out by the department’s enforcement division through a series of raids following public complaints and intelligence monitoring.

She said the raids were conducted on business premises, vehicles and residential homes that were used as sales operations centres or storage for the goods.

“However, the number of seized goods dropped as opposed to 2019 to 2020, where 1,231 types of products valued at RM1.19 million were confiscated.

“Most of the items seized were slimming pills and sex stimulants,” she said after officiating the 2023 Gerak Gempur Cakna Ubat programme in Kuala Terengganu today.

Kasemani said the department has also issued compounds of RM282,450 under the Sale of Drugs Act 1952, the Poisons (Amendment) Act 2022 and the Medicines (Advertisement and Sale) Act 1956 for the period 2021 to 2022.

She said in addition to public complaints, the department also has a special team that monitors online sales and advertising of unregistered cosmetic products and medicines.

“At the department we have 23 officers responsible for pharmacy enforcement activities and they are able to conduct between five and six raids a month,” she said.

Meanwhile, Kasemani also advised the public to check the registration status of medicines with the Health Ministry (MOH) before purchasing them.

“To check the registration status of a product, visit the MOH website or use the FarmaChecker app that can be downloaded from Google Playstore or Apple Store,” she said. – Bernama, February 5, 2023.