Ringleader of Viagra scam jailed

A British businessman has been jailed for four-and-a- half years for organising a conspiracy to supply counterfeit drugs for treating conditions such as impotence and baldness.

Ashish Halai, 31, of Borehamwood, Essex, was described by prosecutors as the "lynchpin" of the British side of a multimillion-pound operation to smuggle fake Viagra and other counterfeit medicines made illegally in China, Pakistan and other parts of Asia.

Three other members of the gang were found guilty at Kingston Crown Court of similar charges of conspiring to sell counterfeit medicines. The gang paid about 25p for each tablet, but the court heard that they could be sold on the internet for up to £20 each. Millions of pounds passed through bank accounts belonging to the four men.

You can buy the real thing in India (generic, in bulk) for not much more than 25p each! And how the hell did they get £20 a piece for them on the internet? The average price today is about one tenth of that. It's true that a few years ago, when Viagra first appeared, they were selling for £20 each on the black market (even buying them at £7-50 each I made a decent profit) but those days are long gone.

It never pays to be too greedy. Even in the illegal drugs business.