Brazil is one of the world’s highest users of anorectic drugs, mainly diethylpropione, fenproporex and
sibutramine. The present work focuses on physical and chemical characteristics of 17 counterfeited
capsules containing amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) from three seizures conducted by Brazilian
Federal Police. The physical profile was useful in indicating forgery, bring complementary information,
but the use of this data singly was not sufficient to distinguish between authentic and counterfeited
medicines. The chemical analysis revealed that the seizures capsules labeled as Desobesi-M1
(fenproporex 25 mg), actually contained the active pharmaceutical ingrediente (API) sibutramine.
The amount of this API ranged from 1/3 to 2 times the amount of drug found in commercial product, may
reach twice the recommended daily dose. Multivariate analysis with application of principal component
analysis on data from spectroscopy attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared classified the
samples according to their similarities, indicating that two seizures had common origin. This study
represents the first step in the elucidation of falsification of ATS in Brazil. Considering the forensic
intelligence these information are valuable in order to develop and establish a database that enables
correlate samples from different locations and/or suppliers and to map the profile and trends of
trafficking.