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IF CHINA’S toxic toys and jewellery worried the US recently, made-in-China counterfeit ‘Viagra’ pills are now haunting the Mumbai Police. The pills have police officers very worried because they too are highly hazardous to health, yet easily available. Last week, the crime branch busted a counterfeit Viagra racket in the city and recovered 25,000 such pills worth Rs 44,75,000 from a makeshift shop at Mushafir Khana in Dongri.

“It’s absolutely hazardous and unfit for consumption. They are all made in China,” said Rakesh Maria, joint commissioner of police (crime). Maria said consignments of the fake pills were shipped to India from China, and they cleared the customs because they are labeled as medicines. 

Once a consignment lands in Mumbai, it is taken to packaging units, where the pills are then carefully sealed in small plastic bottles of 30 pills each. Pfizer labels are wrapped around the bottles to give the product a stamp of authenticity, Maria added.

Though the police have raided two such units in the city, Maria refused to disclose their names and whereabouts, stating it would hamper the investigation. After the police sent samples of the ‘Chinese Viagra’ for a chemical analysis, it was found that the composition was absolutely erroneous. “The volume of chemicals used in the fake one is much above the prescribed limit,” Maria said.

Interestingly, though the original Viagra comes in 50 mg pills, the duplicates were 100 mg. “Possibly, it was meant to convey that the duplicates were more potent than the originals,” said crime branch senior inspector Ramesh Mahale. 
debashish.panigrahi@hindustantimes.com