A haul of Viagra-style drugs was seized from a suburban home near London as part of a crackdown on the illicit sale of medicines on the internet.
Investigators from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency watchdog filled two large bags with the erectile dysfunction drugs and seized a laptop and documents from the suspected trader.
The man, who was operating from a housing estate in Kings Langley,
Hertfordshire, now faces prosecution under the Human Medicines Regulations and possibly also the Fraud Act and Proceeds of Crime Act.
The raid was part of Operation Pangea, a week-long annual initiative across 99 countries involving Interpol. A total of 3.7 million doses of fake drugs, worth £12.2 million, were seized in the UK. They included counterfeit slimming tablets and treatments for hair loss.
Officials raided the house in Kings Langley after monitoring the suspect’s website and system for taking payments. Test purchases confirmed the presence of illegal ingredients in the tablets. Many of the drugs are produced in India or China but in combinations of active ingredients and forms that are unlicensed for sale in Britain.
Viagra and its derivatives can only be obtained with a prescription to ensure the patient does not have underlying health issues. The tablets cost about £3 over the internet.
Danny Lee-Frost, head of operations with the enforcement group at the MHRA, said the seized drugs were probably safe but the people selling them were not doctors or pharmacists. and “don’t carry out blood pressure checks first”. He added: “We are spoilsports, but imagine the story if someone died and didn’t know the risk.”
The MHRA also raided the Royal Mail postal hub in Coventry where many items arrive in the country. Officers shut 1,288 websites selling the counterfeit drugs.
