p2pnet news | Crime:- “Back in the summer of 2005, Pfizer, manufacturer of Viagra DRM (Droop Restoration Management) technology, was roundly criticized for not explaining in its wild and horny advertisement that taking the drug can cause headache, flushing and abnormal vision,” p2pnet posted in 2006, going on:

“Nonetheless and notwithstanding, Viagra continues to be wildly popular to the extent it’s experiencing ‘piracy’ problems similar to those the entertainment and software cartels constantly whine about.”

Pfizer has even commissioned a song about it, inviting people to create their own renditions (National Lampoon, where are you?), as well as offering a dart game inviting participants to, “Start playing and find out if you can hit the mark.”

Er, Yes.

Anyway, now millions of, “unsuspecting customers, buying what they thought were Viagra and Propecia, were victims of one of the most ambitious and elaborate of counterfeiting crimes,” the Times Online.

A gang led by Ashish Halai bought fake drugs from Chinese suppliers for as little as 25p a tab and sold them online for up to £20 (almost $40), says the story.

“Details of their vast network - stretching from Britain to Hong Kong, Dubai, the US and the Bahamas - emerged yesterday as justice finally caught up with the conmen,” it says.

“In the autumn of 2002, counterfeit Viagra was seized by HM Revenue & Customs at Stansted airport,” says Britain’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), going on:

The men were charged with masterminding the industrial-scale supply of counterfeit medicine between 2002 and 2005, involving millions of pounds worth of counterfeit Viagra, Cialis and Propecia.

Among them was Halai, who’s been sentenced to four years in jail.

The original bust was followed by other seizures at Stansted and Heathrow airports where, “false descriptions for a variety of products e.g. ‘Vitamins C & E’, ‘Calcium for Kids’ and ‘Samples of Mineral Supplements for Dogs’ were used,” says The MHRA says, continuing:

The counterfeit medicines were filtered for sale through licensed wholesalers to pharmacies in the UK and through internet sites operating both in the UK and overseas. In 2004 counterfeit Cialis made its way into the regulated supply chain reaching patient level, this lead to a recall of that product from the UK market

Halai was a member of the UK distribution arm of a global counterfeiting ring, operating from China, India and Pakistan, and extending to the Caribbean and the USA, according to the MHRA.

He and his Nayna, a pharmacist, “smuggled the pills into the UK from China before distributing them to customers over the Internet,” says This is London, adding:

“Halai pleaded guilty at Kingston Crown Court to conspiracy to sell prescriptiononly medicines and conspiracy to use registered trademarks without permission.”

.Slashdot it!

Also See:
p2pnet - Pfizer’s Viagra RFID DRM ; ), January 8, 2006
Times Online - Fake world of the Viagra plotters, September 18, 2007
MHRA - Counterfeit medicines gang convicted in Operation Stormgrand, September 17, 2007
This is London - muggler who made £5m from fake Viagra is jailed, September 18, 2007

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 18th, 2007 at 11:04 am and is filed under Crime. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

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