In the latest erectile dysfunction drug bust to take place at Los Angeles International Airport, a 71-year-old was stopped by customs officials who discovered nearly 40,000 fake pills stuffed in his luggage and a golf bag.
On Wednesday, federal agents arrested Kil Jun Lee, an ex-law enforcement officer from South Korea, who tried to bring 29,827 fake Viagra pills, 8,993 fake Cialis pills and 793 Levitra look-alikes into the states on a flight from his native country.
Asked if he planned to use the drugs himself, Lee told officers he had a heart condition and would die if he took them all, according to the criminal complaint.
The pills, which were wrapped in aluminum foil, were valued at $700,000, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said in a statement.
Lee was arrested by Homeland Security agents at his Los Angeles home, and charged with trafficking counterfeit goods.
"When it comes to counterfeit pharmaceutical products, never has the expression 'buyer beware' been more true," Claude Arnold, special agent in charge for HSI Los Angeles said in a statement.
Just two months ago, another man from South Korea was busted for trying to bring 63 pounds of tadalafil, the main ingredient in brand name erectile dysfunction drugs, into the country from Seoul.
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By the time lab tests results came in, the 40-year-old man was long gone.
