WASHINGTON – As the demand for sexual therapy drugs skyrockets, some are turning to less trustworthy sources for their little blue pill.
But U.S. Customs officials are warning consumers about buying Viagra, or other similar drugs, online.
Customs and Border Protection has seized more than a thousand shipments of counterfeit versions of the drugs this year alone.
They found dirty warehouses with fungus growing on the walls in China, boric acid-laced pills in Ecuador and commercial grade wall paint used to give pills color in Montreal. In Columbia, pills were made using sheet rock and rat poison and in Hungary, they contained speed.
In 2010 agents nabbed 330 shipments of fake ED drugs. So far this year, the number stands at 1,200.
“A lot of these drugs are ordered over the Internet from what appear to be legitimate pharmacies and are shipped directly to the patients by the counterfeiters,” says Therese Randazzo with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
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