Two brothers have been sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court for the illegal importation and sale of unlicensed erectile dysfunction drugs
Charlie Knight, 21yrs old and Matthew Knight, 27yrs old, from Station Road, Hatfield Pereval in Essex were both awarded stiff penalties when over 19,000 doses of the illegal drugs were found in their possession.
The Chelmsford Crown Court stuck the brothers with eight-month prison sentences, suspended for 12 months and ordered them to carry out 200 hours of community service. They were also ordered to pay £1000 in costs each.
This followed an investigation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
During the investigation a raid was conducted on a property in Hatfield Pererval, Essex where MHRA investigators seized over 19,000 doses of unlicensed erectile dysfunction medicines.
MHRA Head of Enforcement, Alastair Jeffrey, said: “These men had previously been warned that their actions were against the law and yet they persisted in their actions.”
Investigators also found that the brothers were running a business called MedKnight Services and were selling the medicines to customers in the UK and across Europe via eBay, due to an increase in the demand of erectile dysfunction drugs.
This demand is mainly driven by a rise in incidences of various diseases, an expanding elderly population and increasing focus on awareness and education.
However, there has been a recent swell in the amount of cases in which illegal erectile dysfunction drugs have been found in the UK; nearly £1m worth of the illegal drugs were seized in October and a man was jailed for 16 months for selling these illegal drugs in August.
Jeffrey said: “People like this involved in the illegal supply of medicines aren’t interested in your health - they are only interested in your money.
“Please think carefully before purchasing medical products from internet sites as you have no idea where they have come from or what they might contain.
“If you do chose to buy medicines online you should only buy from a site that is registered with MHRA and displays the new EU common logo.
“If you have any concerns about your health the best thing you can do is to see your GP and get a proper diagnosis.”