Hong Kong customs officers have arrested an alleged mastermind in a massive international fake pharmaceutical drug-smuggling syndicate in the first joint operation with US customs and the US Food and Drug Administration. The United States is seeking a warrant to extradite the 27-year-old Chinese suspect, and he could face up to 10 years in jail and a US$2 million (HK$15.6 million) fine if he is convicted of smuggling and conspiracy to defraud, according to Ben Leung Lun- cheung of the Customs Drug Investigation Bureau.
Millions of fake Viagra and Cialis tablets were seized in the United States in the past few months, where other arrests were made, Leung said.
US and Hong Kong authorities tracked down the suspect who was distributing the drugs via the Internet.
In an undercover operation, an officer posing as a potential buyer met with the distributor in Hong Kong.
Leung said the man offered 400,000 tablets at a price of US$100,000 even though the market value would have been worth US$4.4 million. One tablet of Viagra is worth about US$11.
The Chinese national, believed to be surnamed Xu, claimed to be a businessman. He was arrested at 1.40pm in a hotel Thursday.
The undercover officer found the man articulate and fluent in English, Leung said.
Four tablets of fake Cialis and 24 tablets of fake Viagra were seized.
Leung said he believed the man had been distributing two types of pharmaceuticals: counterfeit tablets, which masquerade under a more respectable brand name; and totally fake tablets which have no pharmaceutical effect at all.
"The appearance of the tablets, and the overall packaging of the products are very similar to the real thing," Leung said.
The arrested man "is a very, very key player," distributing the fake drugs to Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia, he said.
However, local authorities are still investigating the manufacturing base of the syndicate and Leung said there may be more operations in the future in relation to this case.
Leung said the arrest was a landmark operation for Hong Kong in combating the smuggling of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, but denied it was an indication of a growing problem in Hong Kong.
He pointed to figures which showed in 2004 that 16,000 fake Viagra tablets were seized, while only 4,600 were seized last year. In the first eight months of this year 16,000 fake Viagra tablets had been seized, but Leung said this was still no indication of an increasing trend.
Accompanying Leung at the press briefing Friday were representatives from the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Food and Drug Administration, who praised the Hong Kong officers for their dedication and professionalism. FDA special agent Daniel Burke said they approached the investigation with a "sincere desire to protect public health and to ensure the safety and integrity of the world's pharmaceutical supply chain."
Leung said the sharing of intelligence and the cooperation in the operation showed the level of trust between the authorities on either side of the Pacific Ocean.
