Sellers of fake Viagra nabbed

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) arrested three persons it said belongs to a syndicate allegedly selling fake sexual enhancement pills for men during an entrapment in Angeles City last Wednesday afternoon.



NBI Intellectual Property Rights Division chief Rommel Vallejo declined to name the three persons arrested since his men were still going after the rest of the syndicate.



The syndicate sells pills it is passing off as Viagra, a product of the drug company Pfizer to enhance male sexual drive.



Vallejo said they received a complaint from Pfizer that several fake Viagra pills were being sold in Batangas, Laguna, Nueva Ecija, and Pampanga for P95 per box.



Genuine Viagra pills sell for P3,000 a box.



A Pfizer representative warned against taking fake Viagra pills “because we don’t know their exact chemical content.”



Members of the NBI-IPRD met with the suspected members of the syndicate at a fastfood outlet in Angeles Wednesday afternoon.



One NBI asset pretended to purchase 1,000 boxes of Viagra from the group. Vallejo said the arrests were made when the marked money changed hands.



Vallejo and his men brought the three suspects back to the NBI headquarters in Manila to be detained.

By LEONARD D. POSTRADO