Authorities suggest that due to the size of the shipment, the pills were meant for sale throughout Israel.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHA HALF-TON of counterfeit Viagra pills 370(photo credit: The Customs Authority)
Authorities discovered an attempt to smuggle 700,000 counterfeit Viagra pills at the Ashdod Port on Monday.The erectile dysfunction pills, which in total weighed half a ton and could have been sold illegally for NIS 20 million, were hidden in TV tables that a young Hebron resident had imported from China.A report on Tuesday said customs officials had intercepted the shipment, one of the largest hauls of illegal drugs they had ever caught.The tables were addressed to a Palestinian Authority importer around age 30, who asked the Customs Authority for permission to release the container full of furniture and stones. But when it was sent for scanning, the customs official saw that there was no uniformity in the scanned image and physically opened the container.The official found hundreds of unassembled TV tables in their original wrapping, with the counterfeit pills hidden inside. Colorful, decorative stones had been placed in the container to confuse the customs officials and keep them from detecting the pills.Authorities suggested that due to the size of the shipment, the pills were meant for sale throughout Israel and not only in PA-controlled territories.Samples of the medications were sent to the Health Ministry’s labs for investigation.Not only was the importation a crime and a violation of intellectual property laws, but the counterfeit pills would likely have endangered public health. The pills will be destroyed when the investigation is complete.
