Seven million Viagra tablets have been seized in Dubai, as part of a huge raid on an illegal Viagra and impotence treatment storage facility. The operation is believed to be the biggest Viagra raid that the Middle Eastern region has ever seen, with authorities saying that they want to send out a message that Dubai is an “attractive business environment.”
The Viagra warehouse, in the Dry Port area of Dubai, held a vast array of Viagra pills, along with other impotence treatments and sexual aids. An employee at the port-side space was apparently paid 3,000 AED - around £500 - to give access to the warehouse so that the Viagra medications could be stored. The owner lives abroad and says that he was not aware about what was happening.
Viagra criminals rife in the Middle East
The counterfeiters could made US$4 million from the scam if the Viagra drugs had been sold alone. It is estimated that the total value of all the drugs at the facility could have been $70 million.
Steve Allen, head of security for Viagra manufacturers Pfizer in the Middle East, said: “This is just the tip of the iceberg.” He added: “I would expect there have been many other sets of seven million tablets that have gone unnoticed here.”
Allen said there are large numbers of criminals who are active in the Middle Eastern area. “There are organised criminal gangs who are involved in the selling of counterfeit medicine active in the region,” he said.
The war against illegal Viagra
Viagra has been vastly popular since it was first produced 12 years ago, reaping billions of pounds in profits for manufacturers Pfizer. It is no surprise that criminals have wanted to cash in on this profit. They have done so by creating fake Viagra, using ingredients ranging from sawdust to bird droppings.
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