SINGAPORE: WITH dusk coming on at about 6pm, a group of men dashed into a crowded back alley between Desker and Rowell roads.

The men, from the police and the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), were on a mission on Monday evening.

They wanted to find and recover an illegal drug, Power 1 Walnut, that had adversely affected the health of at least 10 men here, causing one of them to suffer a stroke.

Said Inspector Steven (we are not using his full name to protect his identity): 'Most of the makeshift stalls that were operating earlier had been raided. When we arrived, only one stall appeared to be operating.'

The man at the lone stall saw the police and HSA officers and hurriedly packed up a wooden box.

'We managed to stop him. But when we opened up the box, it contained only some empty boxes of illegal counterfeit products,' said Inspector Steven from HSA's Compliance Branch.

From his experience, he knew there were other stocks lying around. But where?

'I asked him to show me what was in his pockets,' said Inspector Steven.

The man took out a bunch of keys.

As Inspector Steven continued to interview him, he could see the man getting more nervous.

He observed that the man was perspiring and his focus was on Inspector Steven's colleague, who was holding the keys.

His gaze also kept shifting to a particular shophouse.

When the officers used the keys on the rented shophouse, one of them opened a back door. Inside the shophouse were several partitions.

'After looking around, we found a hidden room and, in there, we found a large stash of counterfeit drugs including Power 1 Walnut,' said Inspector Steven.

Upon further questioning, the man admitted that the drugs were his.

That ended HSA's most recent raid on counterfeit drugs and especially on Power 1 Walnut.

Three raids, conducted on 13, 15 and 18Feb, netted about 2,000 Power 1 Walnut pills. Each pill has a street value of between $1 and $2.

Other illegal drugs, including counterfeit Cialis, Levitra and Viagra, could cost more than that.

The estimated street value of the drugs seized in the three raids is about $200,000.

Four men were caught in the three raids. They will be prosecuted under the Medicines and/or Poisons Act.

Any person found guilty of such offences can be jailed for up to two years and/or fined up to $10,000 for each offence in the Poisons Act. Under the Medicines Act, it can be a $5,000 fine and/or jail of up two years.

Mr Yee Shen Kuan, senior deputy director, Centre for Drug Administration, Health Products Regulation Group, HSA, said they have alerted local healthcare providers on the adverse effects of Power 1 Walnut.

INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS

'We have stepped up surveillance and raids targeted at high-risk areas.

'On the international front, we have alerted counterparts in the Asean region, as well as China and Hong Kong, to keep a look out for this particular product,' he said.

The 10 men who took Power 1 Walnut and suffered adverse reactions were aged between 30 and 70.

Though the packaging says it contains only natural ingredients, an analysis of PowerI Walnut found its concentration of glibenclamide (an anti-diabetic drug) to be several times its therapeutic dose - 45mg to 100mg compared to 2.5mg to 20mg for the treatment of diabetes.

The men had low blood sugar, dizziness, cold sweat and anxiety. Four lost consciousness. Nine have recovered, but one man, who was critically ill, is still in hospital.

Another 29 cases could not be confirmed as the patients were not willing to admit if they had taken Power 1 Walnut.

All the cases were detected between 29 Jan and 20 Feb.

Cleaner regrets taking illegal pills

NEVER again. That's how a cleaner who had a bad experience with PowerWalnut 1 now feels.

The man, who wanted to be known only as Mr Yem, 47, had taken it once before without incident.

But the second time he took it, on the first day of Chinese New Year, he wasn't so lucky.

He took two pills in anticipation of having sex with his girlfriend, but she could not meet him after all. After drinking and eating, he went to bed.

The next morning, he woke up with shaky hands, body aches and fatigue.

He tried to work, but felt so bad he had to take a break. He then went to a 24-hour clinic, but the queue was long, so he went back to his quarters and took two Panadol pills.

He felt better, but that night, while watching TV, he became unconscious.

A friend with him called an ambulance. Mr Yem stayed at Tan Tock Seng Hospital for five days.

'I will never take this again. I almost died. It's not worth it,' he told The New Paper.

Said Dr John Lim, CEO of the Health Science Authority: 'Members of the public who have bought or consumed Power 1 Walnut should stop immediately and seek medical advice as soon as possible.'

This story was first published in The New Paper on Feb 24, 2008.