Health Ministry seizes RM12.4mil male sex stimulants

PETALING JAYA: The Health Ministry seized RM12.4mil worth of "male health supplements" from a store at KL International Airport.

Director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah said the raid was conducted on June 6 at the store located at the International Free Trade Zone hub.

He said 181 types of medication, were confiscated, mostly generic medication for erectile dysfunction such as sildenafil and tadalafil.

Also confiscated was generic medication to treat high cholesterol, high blood pressure and antibiotics.

“The distribution of the medicines was led by syndicates in India, Singapore and Malaysia. Orders for the medication were made online via a site with a London domain,” said Noor Hisham in a statement.

He said the Singapore company would place orders with Indian manufacturers who would then send the medication to the Malaysian hub, which was also a packing facility.

The Indian company would also send details of the customers, mostly from United States.

The medication would be sent to the United States from Malaysia in packages marked as “Health Supplements."

“The syndicate has been operating in Malaysia since the middle of March and was sending more than 1000 packages everyday,” said Noor Hisham.

He said the Malaysian staff were trained to check emails, choose and label the medications before they were packed and subsequently couriered out.

Noor Hisham said the medications were illegal under the Poisons Act 1952 and Control of Drugs and Cosmetics Regulations 1984 and Malaysia Copyright Act 1987 because some medication for erectile dysfunction were still under patent.

“Further investigations will be carried out and individuals and companies found to be in the wrong will be charged in court,” he said.