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Gang guilty of fake Viagra scam Gang guilty of fake Viagra scam
(30 minutes later)
Three people have been found guilty of conspiracy to supply millions of pounds worth of counterfeit Viagra and drugs used to treat male hair loss.Three people have been found guilty of conspiracy to supply millions of pounds worth of counterfeit Viagra and drugs used to treat male hair loss.
A fourth man also admitted to Kingston Crown Court his involvement in the scam to supply fake drugs to customers in the UK, the US and Canada.A fourth man also admitted to Kingston Crown Court his involvement in the scam to supply fake drugs to customers in the UK, the US and Canada.
Police say the convictions are the result of the biggest counterfeit drugs bust in British history.Police say the convictions are the result of the biggest counterfeit drugs bust in British history.
The fake medicines were made in factories in India, China and Pakistan.The fake medicines were made in factories in India, China and Pakistan.
A chance interception by UK customs officers of a parcel containing 12,000 fake Viagra tablets addressed to 58-year-old gang member Gary Haywood led to a huge investigation spanning three continents.A chance interception by UK customs officers of a parcel containing 12,000 fake Viagra tablets addressed to 58-year-old gang member Gary Haywood led to a huge investigation spanning three continents.
Forged packagingForged packaging
Large quantities of the counterfeit drugs were shipped into the UK from factories abroad, before being repackaged and sold over the internet to customers in Britain, the US, Canada and the Bahamas.Large quantities of the counterfeit drugs were shipped into the UK from factories abroad, before being repackaged and sold over the internet to customers in Britain, the US, Canada and the Bahamas.
The nine-month trial at Kingston Crown Court heard the products, which contained around 90% of the normal active ingredient found in authentic tablets, were placed in forged packaging with fake logos and patient information leaflets. The trial at Kingston Crown Court heard the products, which contained around 90% of the normal active ingredient found in authentic tablets, were placed in forged packaging with fake logos and patient information leaflets.
The scale of the counterfeiting was exposed when Haywood, from Leicester, who claimed to be working for or drugs firm Pfizer, told undercover investigators on camera that "within 6-8 weeks I will be able to supply up to a million tablets".The scale of the counterfeiting was exposed when Haywood, from Leicester, who claimed to be working for or drugs firm Pfizer, told undercover investigators on camera that "within 6-8 weeks I will be able to supply up to a million tablets".
The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) went on to search Haywood's Leicestershire home and found more than £1.5m of counterfeit drugs.The Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) went on to search Haywood's Leicestershire home and found more than £1.5m of counterfeit drugs.
'Lifestyle drugs''Lifestyle drugs'
The MHRA said the conspiracy involved fake versions of Pfizer's Viagra, prescribed to treat men suffering from impotence or erectile dysfunction, Eli Lilly's competitor product Cialis and Merck & Co's Propecia, used to treat male baldness.The MHRA said the conspiracy involved fake versions of Pfizer's Viagra, prescribed to treat men suffering from impotence or erectile dysfunction, Eli Lilly's competitor product Cialis and Merck & Co's Propecia, used to treat male baldness.
BBC correspondent Jon Brain said the gang relied on customer embarrassment about buying so-called "lifestyle medicines" to prevent them from complaining to the authorities.BBC correspondent Jon Brain said the gang relied on customer embarrassment about buying so-called "lifestyle medicines" to prevent them from complaining to the authorities.
Sarah Jarvis from the Royal College of General Practitioners warned against taking counterfeit drugs. Sarah Jarvis from the Royal College of General Practitioners warned against taking such counterfeit drugs.
She told BBC News 24: "It is highly likely that the people who buy these drugs online would not dream of going out into the back streets of India and eating off the floor their lunch from a street cafe, and yet that's effectively what they're doing."She told BBC News 24: "It is highly likely that the people who buy these drugs online would not dream of going out into the back streets of India and eating off the floor their lunch from a street cafe, and yet that's effectively what they're doing."
Retrial
Haywood, along with Ashwin Patel, 24, of north London, and Zahid Mirza, 45, of Ilford, Essex, were found guilty last month of a number of counts of conspiring to sell fake medicines.
Ashish Halai, 31, of Borehamwood, Essex, the head of the UK arm of the gang's operation, had already pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiring to sell the fake drugs before the trial started almost nine months ago.
The verdicts could only be reported on Monday after restrictions were lifted by the court.
The jury failed to reach verdicts on four other defendants.
George Patino, a doctor from Mexico, Alpesh Patel, a pharmaceutical sales representative from Kingsbury, London, pharmacist Rajendra Shah of St Albans, Hertfordshire, and businessman Ketan Mehta of Grove Park, London, will face a retrial next year.