U.S. Customs Seizes Fifty Pounds Of Counterfeit Viagra in Miami

As reported on many newswires and through an official press release, the United States Customs and Border Protection announced that in October, they intercepted 21,600 counterfeit Viagra tablets bound for another country.

The interception of counterfeit product, which weighed in at nearly 50 lbs. was passing through the Miami International Airport from India and was spotted by a suspicious Customs and Border Patrol Agent.

"We just know it's not authentic, but we don't know what's in it," said Customs and Border Protection spokesman Jose Castellano. "If something is counterfeit, there's no telling what they were manufactured with, and it could be harmful."

This is yet another cautionary tale about the prevalence and potential danger of counterfeit medications. This fraudulent shipment, valued at well over $300,000 (at the wholesale acquistion cost of the legitimate drug), could have negatively affected the health or caused a fatal reaction to nearly 22,000 consumers.

Know where you are buying your prescriptions and make certain that they purchase drugs from a trustworthy source of supply that utilizes track and trace and material screening technologies to verify and authenticate their pharmaceuticals inventories. Never purchase any drug from a source other than a licensed, well established pharmacy that requires a prescription from your physician.

To learn more about material screening technologies used to protect the pharmaceutical supply chain, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

To view a News Video on the seizure visit: cbs4.com.