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8 jailed in China's crackdown on fake sex pills

Xinhua, November 9, 2011

• A Shanghai court has sentenced eight members of a counterfeiting ring to up to 34 months in jail for producing and selling fake Viagra and other sex pills across China, local officials said Tuesday.

  The eight, all migrants from other provinces to Shanghai, were arrested in a year-long police crackdown that saw the seizure of 840,000 tablets valued at 30 million yuan (4.72 million U.S. dollars), officials said.

  The ring made the fake drugs in rural workshops, mixing Chinese herbs with anti-impotence drug Sildenafil. The products were named after Viagra, Xilishi, Black Ants, Lion King and more than 60 other brands, officials said. They were sold either online or to sex shops in Shanghai, Guangzhou and other places, officials added.

  China's food and drug sector has been plagued by a series of safety scandals recently. Sex pills have been among the most common counterfeits seized in government crackdowns.

  In a showcase, Beijing's municipal drug supervision bureau in January destroyed more than 60 tonnes of confiscated fake and substandard pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. The fake drugs involved some 130 brands, including Viagra.

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