Fake drug market "bigger than prostitution"

Counterfeit pharmaceuticals top the list of all black market products worldwide at present with an estimated value of $200bn, three times the market for opium and heroin, according to a new report from Havocscope.

Fake medicines come above prostitution and marijuana in the ranking of 54 different illegal activities, which is based on monitoring information from public sources including newspaper articles, academic journals, governmental data, non-governmental reports and press releases from relevant institutions.

Illicit use of prescription drugs also scored highly, coming in at number six with an estimated market of around $65bn, with counterfeit medical devices coming in at number 27 with a figure of $7bn.

Among other counterfeit goods featured in the listing - which is available here - were electronics ($100bn), auto parts ($16bn), clothing ($12bn), footwear ($12bn), sports goods and memorabilia ($12bn), cigarettes ($4bn) and cosmetics ($3bn).

The USA is ranked as the number one market in the world for black market good sales, followed by China, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Japan, Canada, the UK, Russia and Germany.