Detectives raid alternative cancer clinics

TWO disgraced doctors accused of selling false hope to terminally ill cancer patients had their premises raided by detectives yesterday.

More than a dozen Clare gardaí, backed up by 16 detectives from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and staff from the Irish Medicines Board, seized medication, medical equipment and documents in early morning raids on seven premises in Clare and Tipperary.

The doctors at the centre of the searches are Dr Paschal Carmody and Dr William Howard Porter. Dr Carmody was found guilty of professional misconduct earlier this year. Although banned from working as a doctor in Ireland, he is not restricted from working in alternative medicine. Dr Porter was struck off as an ophthalmologist in the US for gross negligence but has continued to offer alternative treatments in Ireland.