Vietnamese drug authorities are asking the Canadian Embassy in Vietnam for help in verifying the origin of drugs reportedly imported from the country by VN Pharma, a local drug firm whose CEO, Nguyen Minh Hung, has been arrested over alleged drug smuggling, a health official has said.

>> CEO of Vietnam drug firm held for alleged smuggling Such assistance is needed following allegations that the records of certain drugs that were reportedly produced in Canada and imported by VN Pharma were faked, an official at the Drug Administration of Vietnam (DAV) told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Monday.

Investigators from the Ministry of Public Security have initially concluded that Hung   used the legal status of this company to collude with several other people to import a large quantity of drugs of unknown origin.

One of the drugs under question is H-Capita, which is used for the treatment of breast, stomach and rectum cancer, a source told Tuoi Tre.

According to the results of a drug study held by the Ho Chi Minh City Health Department in May, this drug was produced by Canada-based Helix Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Therefore, the DVA needs to verify whether this drug was prepared by Helix or not.

The DVA has received a reply in writing from a Canadian agency that the files of several types of medicine imported into Vietnam and registered by VN Pharma, along with other companies, are not genuine Canadian drugs, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health said last Saturday.

Therefore, the DVA said it will revoke the registration numbers of the drugs whose files were faked when imported into Vietnam by VN Pharma, which is located in District 10, Ho Chi Minh City.

Earlier on September 19, police detained Hung for allegedly smuggling and counterfeiting bidding documents. They also arrested Vo Manh Cuong, from HCMC's District 7, for allegedly leading a ring that made false documents to distribute smuggled drugs on the local market.

Hung and Cuong had allegedly colluded with some others to smuggle drugs worth nearly US$1 million into Vietnam, investigators said.

Dan Viet newswire, citing a source, also said that Hung was caught counterfeiting seven bids for  medicine supplies, and that his company recently won a bid worth as much as VND800 billion (US$37.7 million).

The company was established in 2011 with a charter capital of VND40 billion (nearly $1.9 million) and worked in the pharmaceutical distribution market in Vietnam.

The company has a number of affiliated companies and three other branches: one in Hanoi, as well as in the southern provinces of An Giang and Ca Mau.

Many experts on the country’s pharmaceutical sector have commented that VN Pharma has developed quickly in recent years, while many others in the field have faced numerous problems.