By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

THE US government is seeking $95 million from a Canadian citizen charged with using a Freeport-based pharmacy, licensed by the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), to export and sell illegal prescription drugs to US citizens.

A copy of the June 14, 2012, indictment against Andrew Strempler, which has been obtained by Tribune Business, alleges that he and others used the trade name of Personal Touch Pharmacy, a GBPA-licensed entity, to "operate a facility in Freeport" that effectively acted as a distribution clearing house - sending prescription drugs sourced from around the world to various destinations, including the US.

As the pharmaceutical drugs sold through the Freeport facility were not approved by the Federal Drug Administration (FDA), the indictment alleged that it was illegal to sell them to US citizens.

While Strempler, the owner and president of Canada-based Mediplan Health Consulting, which operated under the name RxNorth.com, had advertised the drugs as being approved by regulators in Canada, the UK and US, the US attorney's for south Florida alleged that neither product safety nor authenticity had been checked.

The episode once again highlights, and reinforces, the need for Bahamian regulatory authorities to be vigilant in ensuring this jurisdiction is not abused by potentially illegal schemes devised abroad.

It shows the need for the Ministry of Health, together with the Bahamas Pharmacy Council, to protect this nation against allegedly 'rogue' operators, as well as the GBPA's need to prevent Freeport's 'free trade' status from being abused.

Detailing the central role played by Freeport and the Bahamas in the scheme, the indictment alleged: "Personal Touch Pharmacy was the trade name used by a pharmacist who was licensed by the Grand Bahama Port Authority to operate a pharmacy in the Bahamas, and to import and export prescription drugs.

"From in or around January 2005, to on or about June 9, 2006, Andrew Strempler and others operated a facility in Freeport, in the Bahamas, using the name and license of Personal Touch to dispense prescription drugs purchased from RxNorth."

RxNorth operated as an Internet, mail and phone order pharmacy based in Canada, purchasing prescription drugs from a variety of countries, in particular using the services of a broker in the US state of Georgia.

"Andrew Strempler and others caused prescription drugs from foreign countries to be shipped to the facility in the Bahamas," the US indictment alleged.

"Andrew Strempler and others caused prescription orders made through RxNorth to be filled at the facility in the Bahamas, with labels on the vials and drug cartons stating they had been filled by RxNorth in Canada."

The envelopes sent to customers in the US were alleged to have RxNorth's Canada address on the return.

"Andrew Strempler and others caused the individual customer packages to be shipped in bulk from the Bahamas to the United Kingdom and the Netherlands Antilles, from where the individual customer packages were mailed to customers in the US, including individuals in the southern district of Florida. Some of the customer packages contained misbranded and counterfeit drugs," the indictment alleged.

The US attorney's indictment detailed two shipments sent by the Freeport facility, on June 6, 2006, and June 7, 2006, each containing six boxes of prescription drugs and their Federal Express tracking numbers.