• The suspects have since been detained at police stations
• The arrests followed joint inspections conducted by ZAMRA and the Drug Enforcement Commission.
• Members of the public are therefore being urged to procure their medicines from registered premises.

Zambia Medicines and Regulatory Authority (ZAMRA) discloses that Fifteen people of Copper-belt Province have been arrested for operating unregistered pharmacies contrary to section 14(1) of the Medicines and Allied Substances Act No. 3 of 2013.

ZAMRA Senior Public Relations Officer Christabel Illiampu said the suspects have since been detained at police stations in Kitwe, Chingola and Ndola; and will soon appear in courts of Law.

Ms. Illiampu noted the arrests followed joint inspections conducted by ZAMRA and the Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) aimed at curbing the sale of medicine and allied substances in unregistered outlets in Kitwe, Chingola and Ndola.

She further issued a stern warning to would-be-offenders that the Authority shall not hesitate to prosecute any person endangering the health of the public through sale of medicines and allied substances from unregistered premises.

“Members of the public are therefore being urged to procure their medicines from registered premises to avoid medication errors and exposure to substandard medicines and allied substances,” said Ms. Illiampu.