Fake Drugs Gang Jailed

July 13th 2009

Businessmen who tried to sell counterfeit drugs on an "industrial" scale have received jail sentences totalling more than 17 years.

More than £3 million worth of goods and assets has been ordered to be recovered from the seven members of the gang.

The final member of the gang to be sentenced, Alpesh Patel, aged 42, received a suspended jail sentence last week.

The gang sought to sell millions of pounds worth of fake Viagra, Cialis and the hair restoration drug Propecia.

They were part of a global ring based in China, India and Pakistan and also operating in the Caribbean and the USA, investigators said.

Mick Deats, of the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said:
"We will continue to use every power at our disposal to prosecute those
engaged in this illicit activity and confiscate the proceeds of their crimes.

"The public are strongly advised to avoid buying medicines online where
the risk of being provided with a counterfeit is greatly increased."

Alpesh Patel, of Highfield Avenue, Kingsbury, London, received a 12 month sentence, suspended for two years, after admitting four allegations.

The stiffest sentence was handed out to Leicester salesman Gary Haywood, who was convicted on 11 counts in April, jailed for six years and ordered to pay more than £500,00 or face a further period in prison.

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