A Dublin man faces a huge €22,000 fine (roughly £18,216) after
submitting a guilty plea to stocking a counterfeit version of
prescription-only erectile dysfunction medication Viagra, in addition to a variety other medicines at his bargains shop.
The 55-year-old from Woodstown Park, Knocklyon, pleaded guilty to 11
offences in breach of the Irish Medicines Board Act, after investigators
discovered the products at his business, Breathnach’s Bargains, at St
Dominic’s Shopping Centre, Tallaght.
The Dublin native was prosecuted after
two separate inspections at the premises by an officer from the Irish
Medicines Board (IMB), who swooped on the shop on September 28th, 2011
and again on April 11th, 2012.
Brenda Kirby, an enforcement officer with the IMB, informed Judge
John O’Neill at Dublin District Court that she visited the shop and
spoke to the man’s 26-year-old son after receiving a tip-off from
customs officers.
Ms Kirby subsequently spotted a “large number of unauthorised
medicinal products”. The 26-year-old male promptly spoke to his father
on the telephone and he informed Ms Kirby the shop would promptly stop
selling the products.
As many of the patients of Medical Specialists™ Pharmacy are fully
aware, Ms Kirby stressed that the Viagra brand is produced only by the
pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, and anything bearing this name that is not
produced by Pfizer, is counterfeit. After Pfizer received a sample of a
product seized at the shop, they unsurprisingly confirmed both the drug
and its labelling was fake.
A whole host of medications are sent to Pfizer thousands of times per
week by authorities and it only takes a few days to find out how
genuine they are. Fake drugs can comprise of numerous disgusting and
lethal ingredients such as brick dust, chalk, paint and pesticides.
Then on April 11, 2012, Ms Kirby went back to the shop and again
found medicinal products on sale. The 55-year-old owner admitted to
possessing Kamagra tablets – which are not licensed for sale in Ireland
or the United Kingdom - and counterfeit Viagra tablets.
He also confessed to selling other prescription items, these being
Max Strength Decongestant Tablets and Vicks Sinex Decongestant Capsules.
Calpol in 100ml and 140ml bottles, Diarrhoea Relief Capsules and
Beechams All in One Tablets were also being sold at the premises.
Judge O’Neill convicted the man and handed down fines totalling
€22,000 to be paid within four months or a 21 day prison sentence will
be enforced. His son pleaded guilty to three charges relating to keeping
Max Strength Decongestant Tablets and Vicks Sinex Decongestant Capsules
in stock for supply. He must donate €1,000 (roughly £826) to charity by
May 27 to receive the benefit of the Probation Act, otherwise he will
be convicted and fined a larger amount.
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