Viagra Scam Man Loses Appeal

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Viagra Scam Ringleader Loses Appeal

23/01/09

A man from Elstree who was jailed for four and a half years for his part in a Viagra drug scam has lost an appeal to reduce the length of his sentence.

The man, Ashish Halai, aged 34, was the ringleader of a drugs gang who sold fake Viagra, Cialis and Propecia tablets. The fake pills were manufactured in secret factories in China, India and Pakistan and were sold over the internet via distribution centres in the UK and the Bahamas. Some fake pills also appeared in UK chemists. It was estimated that the fake pills cost about 25p each to make but sold for £15 each.

Mr Halai's lawyers had argued that the prison term was "manifestly excessive". However, the appeal judge, Lord Justice Toulson, argued that huge profits had been made from the "sophisticated commercial enterprise", and he said that the length of sentence was appropriate for someone involved in fraud on a "grand scale". Mr Halai had no previous convictions, although he is believed to have made in the region of £5 million during the five years before his crimes were exposed in 2002. Halai's wife, a registered pharmacist, received 80 hours community service.