U.S. Customs: 15,000 fake Viagra pills seized at a Kentucky airport

U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it seized 15,000 fake Viagra pills in Louisville Wednesday.

If they were real, the pills would’ve been worth $1.06 million, the agency said. The pills were divided up equally among 500 bottles in a shipment headed to Brooklyn from Hong Kong.

The label on the bottles said they were made in the United States, but the agency said those claims were suspect since the pills were being imported from an industrial company in Hong Kong.

The agency advised that there are dangers to buying medication from online sources. Officials said pills manufactured by non-regulated foreign companies can contain contaminants or dangerous compounds while appearing legitimate.

“This is a dangerous game consumers are playing that could have disastrous results,” said LaFonda Sutton-Burke, director of field operations at U.S. Customs’ Chicago Field Office. “Consumers are purchasing these prescription medications from other countries thinking they are getting them at a discount, when in fact they are purchasing an inferior product with unregulated ingredients.”

Thomas Mahn, the Louisville port director, said U.S. Customs will continue to investigate counterfeit and misclassified goods, like the fake Viagra pills.

“We work closely with FDA and other partner government agencies to provide comprehensive border enforcement in support of national security,” he said in a news release.