Customs authorities of 14 EU member states, including Italy, seized over 3 million pills of illegal medicines and doping substances in a recent operation.

Omissions

• The operation referenced is Operation SHIELD VI, whose results were published by OLAF on 25 February 2026, i.e. after the operation's execution period but before the session date of 5 October 2026.
• The claim states the threshold 'over 3 million' pills, while the official OLAF figure is 'over 3.1 million pills'; the actual figure is slightly higher than the claimed lower bound.
• Beyond pills, the operation also seized other categories of illegal products (e.g. vials, sachets, packages), which the claim does not mention.

Sources

• PrimaryEuropean Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) – European Commission: 'SHIELD VI: Over 3.1 million pills seized in EU-wide action against counterfeit medicinal products'SHIELD VI: Over 3.1 million pills seized in EU-wide action against counterfeit medicinal products. 'The operation saw participation from customs authorities in 14 EU Member States - Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Denmark ... Italy, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Spain ...'
• SecondaryEUIPO – 'EUIPO supports major Europe-wide action against counterfeit medicines' (Operation SHIELD VI)EUR 32 million worth of fake medicines and illicit doping substances have been seized across Europe in Operation SHIELD VI, a major operation led by Europol ...