A recent police crackdown on alleged members of a criminal syndicate has netted a pharmacist and his mother
Hazel Friedman
The mother of a prominent pharmacist has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly poisoning coffee she gave to policemen who raided her son’s premises in search of counterfeit drugs.
Maureen Adlam, the mother of Derek Adlam, one of the alleged kingpins of an illegal medicines syndicate, was charged with attempted murder this week after four of the six policemen who raided her son’s premises in Carletonville became violently ill and collapsed after drinking coffee prepared by Adlam’s mother.
The policemen were rushed to Vereeniging hospital, where they received emergency treatment. They have since been discharged but refuse to comment on the incident.
The cause of the men’s sudden, violent response to the coffee has not yet been diagnosed. But sources close to the investigation say the coffee was laced with a lethal mandrax derivative. The type of coffee – percolated or instant – has also not been disclosed. But while police are tight-lipped about their investigations into the alleged poisoning, they have confirmed that Maureen Adlam has since been charged with attempted murder.
She appeared in the Carletonville Magistrate’s Court and was released on R10E000 bail.
The incident comes in the wake of a recent police crackdown on alleged members of a criminal syndicate dealing in counterfeit, stolen and outdated medicines.
Pharmaceutical experts say that if released on to the local market, these medicines could have a devastating effect on consumers. The pharmaceutical industry estimates that revenues in stolen medicines exceed R1,5-billion a year.
Suspect stock was confiscated two weeks ago in raids on premises – linked to Derek Adlam – at the Vaal Dam, Potchefstroom and surrounding areas.
Police say they found a repackaging plant for counterfeit, stolen and outdated medicines – some allegedly smuggled from India – with a market value of about R60-million.
The counterfeit prescription medicines include Lasix (a powerful diuretic), Lanzor (an anti-ulcer treatment) and Myprodol. An analgesic painkiller, Myprodol is manufactured in South Africa exclusively by Adcock Ingram, which has patented the product. Mandrax was not included on the inventory of allegedly illict stock.
Adlam and his associate, Dion de Beer, appeared in the Potchefstroom Magistrate’s Court last Thursday, Friday and Monday. They were each released on R50E000 bail.
Adlam has been placed under house arrest while further investigations are under way. A trial date has not yet been set.
During the lengthy bail hearing the court heard that Adlam, a former Springbok water-skier, belonged to a sophisticated illegal medicines syndicate.
At the bail hearing Adlam said he believed he was entitled to parallel import medicines due to “loopholes in Section 15C of the Medicines Act” which states that the minister of health has the discretion to prescribe that certain pharmaceutical products are eligible for parallel importing. But the Act clearly states that only the minister has the power to decide what products should be subject to parallel importing.
“This proves that controls are desperately needed in the distribution of medicines,” said a senior pharmacist who was brought in by police to inspect the allegedly counterfeit stock.
Describing himself as a patriot, Adlam said he was trying to provide a cheaper price for medicines to the public. But Adlam’s buyers are wholesalers and pharmacists who usually sell the products to consumers at the normal retail price.
One of Adlam’s alleged customers is Zenith Pharmaceuticals, which was formerly known as Brimstone Pharmaceuticals. Brimstone was raided several times last year in connection with allegedly stolen stock. The company insisted it had no idea the medicine was stolen.