Customs officials have seized a massive shipment of counterfeit Viagra after a criminal gang tried to smuggle it into the US through Miami International Airport. U.S Customs and Border Protection Officers say that they intercepted 21,600 pills in total, weighing 50 pounds.
Samples of the seized pills were sent to a specialist testing group sent up by customs to be tested. They confirmed that the pills were counterfeit, saying that their chemical ingredients were inconsistent with the authentic pills made by Pfizer, the official manufacturers.
Customs officials first became suspicious of the shipment, which came from India, when they saw what a large number of pills each box contained. The head of Customs and Border Protection, Jose Catellanos, said that the shipment was so large they do not believe it was meant for the United States.
The director of field operations warned that the criminal gangs trafficking counterfeit pills were not only stealing profits from legitimate companies but were also duping customers into buying products that were made by unknown manufacturers and contained unknown ingredients. Harold Woodward added that such products could be dangerous to the health and safety of the consumer.