A Zimbabwean national has been arrested, admitting he has been selling illegal medicine to the public which he has been hiding under his bed in Khayelitsha.
The police's Operation Shanela II received information from intelligence teams of suspected illegal activity taking place at a premises in Ilitha Park.
Once inside the house, police found quantities of illegal medicine hidden inside a bedroom.
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Police spokesperson, Constable Ndakhe Gwala explained: "On Wednesday, October 29, members of Operation Shanela II received intelligence of suspected illegal activity taking place at an address in Ilitha Park, Khayelitsha.
"The members found a 42-year-old Zimbabwean male in the house. And during the search, they found large quantities of medicine hidden under the bed.
"The suspect admitted that he sells the medicine to his fellow countrymen. He was then arrested for Contravention of Medicine and related substances Act 101 of 1995.
"The suspect is detained at Harare SAPS, and once charged, he will appear in the Khayelitsha Magistrate's court."
The arrest comes just as the, South Africa launched its National Action Plan (NAP) to address the persistent threat of substandard and falsified medical products, marking a significant step toward safeguarding public health, protecting people's health across South Africa and beyond, and strengthening regulatory collaboration.
It was unveiled by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) in partnership with the National Department of Health and the World Health Organization (WHO), the NAP addresses a crisis that continues to harm and claim countless lives.
According to WHO data, at least one in ten medical products in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including South Africa, is substandard or falsified. This leads to severe health complications, treatment failures and thousands of preventable deaths annually.
WHO said economically, rogue products cost global health systems an estimated US$ 30.5 billion each year and further deepen the financial burdens on South African households, already strained by rising healthcare costs and limited access to quality care.
"In South Africa, where falsified and substandard medicines often masquerade as essential treatments for HIV, tuberculosis and chronic conditions, the NAP's three pillar strategy, grounded in prevention at borders, rapid detection in supply chains, and decisive response through enforcement, aims to protect vulnerable populations from this silent threat," WHO said via a statement issued.
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Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela, CEO of SAHPRA added: "Through unwavering collaboration, we've transformed a fragmented challenge into a unified front, ensuring that every family, from rural clinics to urban pharmacies, can access medicines they can trust. The NAP will not only detect and destroy fake products but empower communities to report threats, turning passive victims into active guardians of health."
Minister of Health Dr Aaron Motsoaledi said in his keynote address on the issue: "Fake medicines don't discriminate! They strike the poorest the hardest, stealing futures from our children and hope from our elders."
