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Karl Schembri
The General Retailers and Traders’ Association president Paul Abela said he will be “having a chat” with vice-president Mario Debono and ask him to explain things surrounding his involvement in the police investigations into a consignment of pharmaceuticals believed to be counterfeit.
Debono, who is also head of the pharmacy owners’ section, was questioned by the police about the suspicious consignment of 400 packets imported by his company last December.
Contacted while he was abroad, Abela downplayed his colleague’s involvement, saying initially that it was “a personal issue” but then added that he would ask him for details about the case.
“It doesn’t seem to be a big issue, from what was reported,” Abela said. “He said he had alerted the authorities about the issue in the first place… but when I’m back I’ll have chat with him so that he explains things to me.”
Debono told MaltaToday last Sunday that the investigations – which are now pending laboratory results from abroad – started after he reported the consignment to the Medicines Authority on 7 December when he received suspicious packets of an anti-cholesterol drug sent from the UK.
However, Debono – who is also a shareholder in three pharmacies – insisted he had nothing to do with the importation, as his company was only acting as a break bulk operation to re-export the drug out of Europe.
“We’re neither the buyers nor the end users of this product,” Debono said. “We’re just innocent bystanders caught up in this case. We have actually been instrumental in stopping this supply, by reporting this case to the authorities.”
Police sources say the results of the pharmaceutical investigation will be instrumental for them to be able to proceed with the case, and for an ongoing magisterial inquiry to be concluded.
kschembri@mediatoday.com.mt |
