Los Angeles crackdown on counterfeit Viagra and Cialis

Just miles from the popular Los Angeles International Airport – the airport more commonly known as ‘LAX’ and used by countless celebrities – lays a warehouse and a federal officer sat beside an X-ray machine.

No, the machine is not scanning any passengers’ luggage, but is actually scouring mail for contraband forbidden from entering the United States.  Moving on a belt operating at least three times quicker than your typical airport security scanner, three or four packages at a time are whizzed along and made visible on a monitor to the federal officer.

The packages may include a whole variety of things such as counterfeit clothing, fresh produce, unlawful steroids, children’s toys and Cuban cigars. All have been sent there via the U.S. Postal Service, and, according to federal law, the officer has the power to open anything deemed to be of a suspicious nature.

At airports across the United States such as LAX, ports and border crossings, federal officials are efficient and quick to prevent any drugs from making their way onto the streets. Usually emanating from Central or South America, cocaine and marijuana are common problems for officials – but surprisingly not the biggest problem.

In fact, it is pharmaceutical products which are their biggest issue currently, with counterfeit drugs coming in by their thousands from Asia (usually China). Some of the most copied medications are erectile dysfunction treatments such as Viagra and Cialis, but counterfeiters will produce fakes of anything from cholesterol to cancer drugs. Often the packaging will be so expertly made that it is difficult to separate from the genuine product.

Customs operates within an incredible 38,000 square feet facility in the Los Angeles-area and is one of seven such sites nationwide that is responsible for the scanning of international mail. The site is open for 17 hours a day, seven days a week, and an estimated 1 million to 1½ million pieces of mail are processed each month.

Authorities say that roughly 5% of the mail they scan is ‘problematic’. Most of these dubious packages are containing counterfeit drugs, which are usually dangerous in three ways: either they have too much of the active ingredient, have too little of it or some will have none at all.

Matthew Bassiur, vice president of global security for Pfizer, the pharmaceutical giant behind erectile Viagra, Champix, and other popular medications, says: “What patients don’t realize is that if they go online and they purchase from a rogue website — one that’s not legitimate — then they may be playing Russian roulette with their lives. It’s really that simple. The counterfeiters are getting really good at making these look just about identical to the real products. We have to bring it back to our laboratories to test it and find out whether it’s authentic product.”

Large multinational drug corporations like Eli Lilly and Pfizer have spent millions of dollars in the fight against counterfeit drugs and finding those behind such scams that they have teams especially devoted to anti-counterfeiting measures. Joining forces with federal agents and government prosecutors, these teams help to build solid cases against those involved with the production and sale of counterfeit drugs.  Usually, the penalty is severe. In August, a South Korean man who tried to smuggle 40,000 counterfeit erectile dysfunction pills into LAX was sentenced by a federal judge in Los Angeles to 2½ years in prison. The fake pills, including copies of Viagra, Cialis and Levitra, were discovered in a golf bag and other luggage after he had returned to the United States from a trip to China.

If you are a male suffering with erectile dysfunction, safety and peace of mind is assured by obtaining genuine erectile dysfunction medication from a reputable and trusted source such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy. We are fully registered online Pharmacy with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), in addition to being a member of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Our team of Doctors are registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and our Pharmacists are registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB).

Viagra and other medications for male impotence such as Cialis or Levitra are obtainable with or without a prescription. If you do not have a prescription, you can undergo a private and confidential online consultation with one of our Doctors and if suitable, they will write you a prescription. This is passed to our in-house Pharmacists, and dispensed and dispatched to you at your home, your place of work, or where ever you choose, discreetly within 24 hours.

1,677 websites shut down for selling counterfeit medication

It has emerged that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) last week seized a haul of over $41 million (£26.9 million) worth of counterfeit or substandard medication in their latest battle to shut down the thousands of websites plaguing the internet that offer low-priced unlawful drugs. The crackdown is part of Operation Pangea VI; a drive to stamp out illegal medicines and which involved more than 100 countries working together, according to Interpol.

In addition to the $41 million worth of illegal medicines obtained, FDA officials have also confirmed they have arrested 58 people and have shut down 1,677 websites that were offering fake or poor quality medication, or for offering drugs without required safeguards. For instance, if a website offering prescription-only medication for male impotence such as Viagra or Cialis does not provide a doctors’ consultation, this is immediately a red flag and should raise suspicion.

In an attempt to dupe the unwilling public into parting money for the dangerous fake drugs, many of the websites the FDA shut down had sophisticated-looking interfaces and were successful in masquerading as a legitimate pharmacy. One of the websites found by the FDA – Walgreens-Store.com – was clearly trying to trick people into believing this was affiliated with the popular chain. However, their website is actually Walgreens.com.

The FDA says the seized drugs included erectile dysfunction pills called ‘Levitra Super Force’ and ‘Viagra Super Force’, in addition to schizophrenia drug Clozaril (clozapine). This medication however has been known to have serious side effects and is only usually prescribed to patients who undergo regular assessments whilst on the treatment.

Speaking to CNN about the problem of counterfeit drugs, FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg commented: “It impacts consumers every day. These products can have none of the active ingredient that people need for the treatment of their disease. They can have too much or too little (of the ingredient); they can have toxic ingredients, and they can prevent patients from getting the actual medications that they badly need to treat their disease.”

During some of the raids last week, FDA and customs agents used handheld scanners with ultraviolet and infrared radiation to spot the presence of falsified packaging or questionable drug ingredients. Fake drug ingredients are still confirmed following the conduction of lab tests however. Los Angeles International Airport is one such place where the scanners are utilised due to the huge amounts of imports arriving at the airport.

Also as part of the Pangea VI Operation and happening closer to home, investigators from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) last week arrested a man operating from a housing estate in Kings Langley near London.

MHRA officials exited the property with two large bags of Viagra-like erectile dysfunction drugs and his laptop for further analysis of his illegal activities.

The man’s apprehension followed the MHRA tracking his website and system for taking payments, and purchasing some drugs themselves to test. Lab analysis showed the presence of illegal ingredients inside the tablets.

This haul was just one of several across the UK last week and in total an incredible £12.2 million worth £12.2 million of illegal drugs were seized. In addition to erectile dysfunction drugs, they were fake slimming and hair loss tablets.

The MHRA’s Acting Head of Enforcement, Nimo Ahmed, said: “During one week we have seized £12.2 million worth of counterfeit and unlicensed medicines. These were being stored in unacceptable conditions and supplied through illegal internet websites without prescriptions by people who are not qualified to dispense medicines.”

He added: “When people buy medicines from an illegal website they don’t know what they’re getting, where it came from or if it’s safe to take. The dose could be too high or too low, or the ingredients could break down incorrectly in the body which makes the medicine ineffective. They could also become victims of credit card or identity fraud as well as downloading computer viruses.”

Medical Specialists Pharmacy are fully aware that there are thousands of illegal websites plaguing the internet that offer ‘discounted’ and ‘genuine’ medicines. We speak to many patients who are clearly very reluctant to obtain medicines online. With this in mind, here are some important factors to be alert of when browsing through different websites:

. No requirement of a doctors’ consultation for prescription medication.
. Long delivery times, sometimes up to several weeks. This is due to the drug being imported from a foreign country before it gets to you.
. The price of the medication is a lot cheaper than what would be expected, sometimes by as much as 70%.
. The website does not list any contact details, e.g. a telephone and fax number, email address, company address or details of its pharmacists, doctors, etc.
. A registered Pharmacy such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy will have the GPhC green cross logo together with its Pharmacy number. This number can be checked to see if it does actually exist.
. The company registration and VAT number should both be clearly stated on the website. Both of these are a legal requirement.

Pfizer’s fight against the illegal fake drug industry

We will begin by stating the obvious: counterfeit drugs are dangerous. You know that, Medical Specialists know that, and we are one of many organisations around the globe who are dedicated in bringing the fight to counterfeiters and see justice prevail. Unfortunately the dangers these people are creating for the customers who buy them does not seem to have much moral impact on them, and many illegal websites still exist today despite the recent closure of 18,000 of such websites.

One popular drug for imitations and poorly-made copies since its launch in 1998 is the Erectile Dysfunction medication Viagra. Manufactured by Pfizer – the maker of smoking cessation drug Champix and countless other medications, it has become a prime target for forgery due to its profitability.

In 2011 (just in the U.S.) it managed to hit $1.04 billion in sales after Pfizer’s incredible marketing outlay of $85 million in the same year. Counterfeiters recognise the stigma that still exists with the subject of male impotence, and some men are still embarrassed about the subject. The fake websites are easy to spot with no listed contact details and where doctor’s consultations are usually not required, but there are men who do not look for these easy-to-spot signs and just want the no-hassle purchase of the supposed inexpensive ‘Viagra’ tablets.

It was also in 2011 when an undercover agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security decided to order discounted ‘Viagra’ on hardtofindrx.com. Fast delivery was assured, however it then took a fortnight for 67 blue, diamond-shaped pills to arrive supplied with a return address of ‘B. Green, High Point, N.C.’. Their authenticity was tested by forwarding the package on to director of Pfizer’s global security team Brian Donnelly, whose team begin by photographing a package’s exterior. After this, they thoroughly analyse things such as markings on the blister packs to the colour of the casings and then dissect the pills to test the chemistry of the powder within.

Counterfeit Pfizer medications are sent to Pfizer several times a week by police and usually it only requires a few days to find out how genuine they are. Fake drugs can contain a whole range of disgusting and lethal ingredients such as brick dust, chalk, paint, pesticides and Pfizer Senior Scientist Amy Callanan even recalls one bogus batch of 17,000 ‘stamina booster’ capsules from a haul in South Korea actually contained the remains of human foetuses.

After scrutinising the 67 ED pills, Donnelly’s team realised that the alias name ‘B. Green’ was one they had encountered in previous investigations into counterfeit dealings and Pfizer had received fake drugs from this name on many occasions. After lab tests confirmed the pills were indeed fake, a detailed report was sent to the FBI from Pfizer and Federal agents asked postal service investigators to check for any surveillance footage they might have that shows a ‘B. Green’ caught in the act of mailing any packages.

After investigations USPS officials managed to identify who they believed to be the suspect: a white male, about six feet tall, parking a red Ford F-150 pickup truck outside a post office in the small town of Trinity, N.C.  ‘B. Green’ was just one of many individuals known as a ‘drop shipper’ – recruited by foreign distributors to receive bulk deliveries from overseas and prepare individual orders to be dispatched to the unknowing public. The advantage of this method is that the customer will receive a delivery showing a more ‘reassuring’ U.S. return address and if customs investigates a package at the border, the resulting notification letter will be sent to the drop shipper and not the customer.

The drop shipper in this instance – aka B. Green – was identified to be an individual by the name of Shane Lance, a 41-year old from North Carolina who eventually pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to traffic and one of trafficking. In November of 2011 he received a 10 month prison sentence and a $5,100 fine owed to Pfizer.

Lance’s relatively small prison sentence and fine was perhaps surprising but was explained by Brian Donnelly: “If he were a crack dealer, for the same type of operation he’d be looking at a five-year minimum”, indicating that the legislation involved with drug counterfeiting need to be severely addressed with a much tougher punishment.

Calls for a global treaty to clamp down on counterfeit drugs

Experts are calling for the introduction of a global treaty to fight the growing problem of trading in potentially fatal counterfeit medicines, of which some of the risks we have previously described back in February . The demands might have something to do with the fact that currently there are bizarrely more sanctions in place regarding the trading of illegal tobacco than counterfeit drugs. In addition, the World Health Organization (WHO) claim that in less developed nations, roughly over one in every 10 drug products are fake and around a third of malaria medicines (i.e. Malarone and Paludrine) are counterfeit, particularly a major issue in certain areas of Africa and Asia.

In more developed nations such as the UK and the U.S., patients can relax somewhat in that medicine safety is a lot better, however there is still a risk of adverse reactions or even deaths being caused as a result of substandard and falsified drugs. This was shown recently when a contaminated batch of methylprednisolone acetate steroid injections that were given to patients in the U.S. for back pain, resulted in an outbreak of fungal meningitisand subsequently the deaths of 24 people.

In a paper published in the British Medical Journal on Wednesday, academics and health professionals demanded for the introduction of a new international law to prevent the flood of lethal drugs into the market.

Their article, argues strenuously that a fake drugs treaty is required, similar to those that already exist to combat money laundering and human trafficking. The publishing of the paper comes just week before 100 states are due to congregate in Beunos Aires, Argentina, and conduct the first meeting of its kind that aims to find effective ways on how the tackle the global problem.

However, the lead author of the report, Amir Attaran of the University of Ottawa, was angered on Monday after being informed by WHO that he and other non-governmental representatives were forbidden from attending, after an objection by India, whose large drugs industry is responsible for manufacturing cheap generic versions of medications. India believe that Western governments backed by ‘Big Pharma’, are using the counterfeit drugs fight as a smokescreen for their real aim; restricting trade in unpatented medicines that are actually urgently required by the poor.

Attaran blasted it was a ‘scandal’ that only government officials were permitted to attend the meeting in Argentina to discuss strategy for fighting counterfeit drugs. He is confused that by under the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, tobacco products must be tracked and criminalises illicit trade globally, “oddly making the law tougher on cigarette falsification than on medicine falsification” he says.

Attaran continued: “The protocol will now make it a requirement to track and trace tobacco products. Cigarette packets can carry serial numbers so it is possible to track them from beginning to end. If this is something you can do for a $5 cigarette packet I do not see why we can’t do it for a $3,000 packet of drugs that could save your life. In Canada we have seen a fake version of the heart drug Avastin come into the country that contains no active drug, just starch and nail polish remover. When you are dealing with a medicine like that if there was a serial number on it you would be able to easily see if it was fake.”

Medical Specialists agree that action needs to be taken to stem the tide of deadly drugs reaching unsuspecting patients. For this to happen though there clearly needs to be a lot less distrust amongst government, public health campaigners and pharmaceutical companies.

Patients around the globe never need to worry about dangerous fakes when dealing with Medical Specialists Pharmacy. Established in 1994 and becoming the UK’s first legal online clinic in 2001, we are fully registered with the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and also a member of the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). Our team of Doctors are registered with the General Medical Council (GMC) and our Pharmacists are registered with the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB).

£117 million of fake drugs are seized during police raids

A country-wide operation in China that involved approximately 18,000 police officers has culminated in the arrest of almost 2,000 people and the seizing of an incredible 1.16bn Yuan ($182m; £117m) of fake medicines in just the past month alone. The arrests were made in an attempt to clean up a country which is widely known for its high volume of bogus products, including a very prosperous nationwide counterfeit drugs market.

As well as millions of dollars’ worth of fake drugs being seized, the police raids in China resulted in the destruction of about 1,100 production facilities according to the Chinese public security minister who spoke yesterday, and confirmed that the arrests actually occurred last month.

The released statement said that some of the counterfeit drugs officials had seized included convincing look-a-likes that were apparently to treat a wide range of conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, skin problems, cancer and rabies. In an attempt to pass the dangerous drugs off as ‘genuine’, the crafty criminals went to extreme measures such as paying to advertise the goods on the internet, newspapers and on television. It has been reported that some of the problems the fakes had caused included serious issues such as heart failure, liver damage and kidney damage.

China is one of the globe’s biggest producers of fake medicines and authorities now need to devise new ways to stop the problem for good. Medical Specialists Pharmacy are strong campaigners for the introduction of much tougher legislation for anybody found guilty of dealing with counterfeit medicines. After all, it is people’s lives at stake when ingesting potentially toxic chemicals that have been poorly produced in a dirty, unhygienic warehouse.

For instance, back in 2008 Chinese drug makers used contaminated ingredients to produce the blood thinning medication ‘Heparin’, resulting in the tragic death of 80 people and many hundreds more in the US had allergic reactions due to the harmful batch. This happened as worryingly some of the goods had been exported overseas. Indeed, from the statement released yesterday, it was uncertain if last month’s apprehended haul were actually meant for Chinese use or distribution to overseas countries.

The ministry are understandably pleased with the latest arrests, with there now being fewer products flooding the market and putting patients lives at risk. However, they have urged for some caution and said, “The crime of making drugs is still far from eradicated, and criminals are coming up with new schemes, becoming craftier and better able to deceive it.” They have further advised everybody to only purchase and obtain their medications from reputable pharmacies and hospitals. Some important things to be aware of, especially when browsing through different websites online, include:

. Long delivery times, sometimes up to several weeks. This is due to the drug being imported from a foreign country before it gets to you.
 . For erectile dysfunction medication, phony website could state ‘generic Viagra’ or ‘generic sildenafil citrate’. There is no such thing as generic Viagra!
. The price of the medication is a lot cheaper than usual, sometimes by as much as 70%.
. The website does not list any contact details, e.g. a telephone and fax number, company address, pharmacists, doctors, etc.
. A registered Pharmacy such as Medical Specialists Pharmacy will have the GPhC green cross logo together with its Pharmacy number. This number can be checked to see if it does actually exist.
. The company registration and VAT number should both be clearly stated on the website. Both of these are a legal requirement.