Health Department warns against buying ARVs and prescription drugs on the black market

Mapaballo Borotho

The Department of Health has issued a stern warning to the public against buying ARVs and other scheduled medicines from the black market.
Authorities say such drugs may be counterfeit, expired, or contaminated, posing serious health risks.
The warning follows a probe after boxes of ARVs were found in the wreckage of a deadly bus crash near Makhado.

The Department of Health has warned the public not to buy scheduled medication, such as antiretroviral (ARV) drugs and other prescription medicines, on the streets or from the black market, as they pose serious health risks.

“Some of these products may be counterfeit, stolen, contaminated, expired, and harmful,” said Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale.

Mohale was speaking to Kaya 959 on Thursday, 23 October 2025, about the risks and dangers of distributing and buying prescribed medicine from the streets.

The warning follows a probe launched by authorities after boxes of ARV drugs and other prescription medications were discovered among the wreckage of a cross-border bus that crashed on the N1 near Makhado, killing at least 43 people and injuring many others.

Authorities are now treating the crash site as both an accident scene and a potential site of pharmaceutical smuggling.

ARVs, used to manage HIV, are tightly regulated and often trafficked due to their high value and demand.

Mohale clarified that individuals may only carry medicine prescribed specifically for them, and only in the quantities authorised by a healthcare professional.

“Individuals are only allowed to carry a certain quantity of scheduled medicines that have been prescribed for them and are required for their treatment. Thus, carrying more such medicines than prescribed without authorisation is prohibited and illegal.

“Legally, you are only permitted to possess and carry the quantity of medicine you have been prescribed by an authorised prescriber,” he added.