Discover how Sproxil Defender™ helped law enforcement identify stolen malaria treatments for 3,000 patients in just 3 days
Quick Facts
- Five cartons of LONART DS worth USD 10,000 — enough medicine to treat 3,000 people —were stolen while en route from the manufacturer in India to retail stores in Nigeria
- Within three days of the theft, thanks to Sproxil, Greenlife had enough leads to track the location of the stolen medicine in pharmacies across Nigeria
Opportunity
Antimalarial drugs, which are vital in countries like Nigeria, are often targeted by thieves and counterfeiters and sold to unknowing consumers for notable profit. After Nigeria’s National Agency for Food & Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) repeatedly intercepted fake antimalarial LONART DS drugs, manufacturer Bliss GVS Limited (India) and distributor Greenlife Pharmaceuticals (Nigeria) partnered with brand protection specialist Sproxil to secure their flagship product.
Five cartons of LONART DS —enough medicine to treat 3,000 people —were stolen while en route from the manufacturer in India to retail stores in Nigeria. Greenlife immediately informed Sproxil of the theft. Previously, these product thefts would have been impossible to investigate properly; consumers would unknowingly purchase and ingest stolen medicine and the trail to the thieves would quickly grow cold. For brand owners, expensive product recalls, lost consumer trust, and brand name degradation were expected to follow.
Solution
Sproxil Defender™ empowers consumers to avoid dangerous counterfeit and stolen products using any phone. It is available by SMS, mobile app, WhatsApp, voice and on the web.
- You put unique codes or products as covert human readable codes and/or 2D barcodes. Sproxil offers mobile-first channels for consumers to message the code back to Sproxil, whether they have a smart or feature phone, or even a land line
- Each consumer can send back the unique code by typing it, scanning it or taking a picture, and Sproxil’s Artificial Intelligence (AI) service verifies the product and delivers an instant response
- Use Sproxil’s secure online portal to identify suspicious product hot spots, monitor alerts and investigative reports submitted by consumers. Track verification metrics to discover how many lives have been positively impacted.
Outcome
Protect Patients, Save Lives
3,000 patients were saved from the risks associated with using stolen drugs and from unknowingly supporting criminals.
Stop Product Theft
No further reports of theft have been made and Greenlife and Bliss continue their efforts in educating consumers about using the Sproxil Defender service
Actionable Insights for Enforcement
- Greenlife’s internal private investigator used information from consumer tip-offs to help law enforcement work upstream and ultimately recover a large amount of the stolen cargo
- Swift action created strong deterrent in marketplace, boosting Bliss GVS and Greenlife’s corporate image
