25/09/2007
Man sentenced in biggest counterfeit bust in UK history
Source : PMLive.com
A man has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison following the biggest counterfeit drugs bust in British history.
The man was convicted of four offences under the Medicines Act and Trade Marks Act after supplying millions of pounds worth of fake Viagra© (sildenafil), Cialis© (tadalafil) and Propecia© (finasteride) between 2002 and 2005.
Three other men have also been found guilty of conspiracy to supply counterfeit drugs, and will be sentenced next month.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the seizure of over GBP 1.5m (USD 3m) counterfeit drugs led to the unravelling of the biggest conspiracy of the supply of counterfeit medicines so far in the UK.
The men were part of the UK distribution arm of a global counterfeiting ring, operating from China, India and Pakistan, and extending to the Caribbean and the US.
The counterfeit medicines were filtered for sale through licensed wholesalers to pharmacies in the UK and through websites 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.
Counterfeit Viagra© was seized by HM Revenue & Customs at Stansted airport in 2002, followed by a number of other seizures at Stansted and Heathrow airports where false descriptions for a variety of products, such as "Vitamins C & E", "Calcium for Kids" and "Samples of Mineral Supplements for Dogs" were used.
The MHRA is holding a conference on 22 November in London on Combatting Counterfeit Medicines.
The man was convicted of four offences under the Medicines Act and Trade Marks Act after supplying millions of pounds worth of fake Viagra© (sildenafil), Cialis© (tadalafil) and Propecia© (finasteride) between 2002 and 2005.
Three other men have also been found guilty of conspiracy to supply counterfeit drugs, and will be sentenced next month.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the seizure of over GBP 1.5m (USD 3m) counterfeit drugs led to the unravelling of the biggest conspiracy of the supply of counterfeit medicines so far in the UK.
The men were part of the UK distribution arm of a global counterfeiting ring, operating from China, India and Pakistan, and extending to the Caribbean and the US.
The counterfeit medicines were filtered for sale through licensed wholesalers to pharmacies in the UK and through websites 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.
Counterfeit Viagra© was seized by HM Revenue & Customs at Stansted airport in 2002, followed by a number of other seizures at Stansted and Heathrow airports where false descriptions for a variety of products, such as "Vitamins C & E", "Calcium for Kids" and "Samples of Mineral Supplements for Dogs" were used.
The MHRA is holding a conference on 22 November in London on Combatting Counterfeit Medicines.
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