Pretoria, Friday 18 May 2018 – Customs officials of the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have seized 437kg of male sexual enhancement pills (Viagra) with a street value of R30-million.
The pills were seized at the OR Tambo International Airport at the weekend. This represents the biggest bust of sexual enhancement pills by Customs at ORTIA in the past year.
Customs officers became suspicious about the description on the cargo manifest and who it was consigned to. After searching the cases, they discovered the massive haul of Viagra.
There are increasing incidents of illicit products being smuggled into the country without obtaining the required permits and being sold on the black market.
Customs has been tasked with detaining all medicaments coming into the country on behalf of the Department of Health if they have not been declared correctly or do not have the required permits.
SARS Customs was also involved in the following cases over the past few months:
- On 15 January 2018, a passenger arriving from India was intercepted and his luggage scanned at ORTIA. The scanner indicated irregular images which resulted in a luggage search. During inspection, 40 000 sexual enhancement tablets, valued at approximately R4-million, was found.
- On 30 October 2017, a shipment weighing 255kg from Mumbai to Johannesburg was intercepted at a cargo shed. Upon inspection, 35 680 Viagra Tablets, 2 589 Steroid pills and other products were found. The total street value of the consignment was around R5,1-million.
- On 14 October 2017, a shipment weighing 17.5kg from India to Johannesburg was intercepted at a cargo shed. Upon inspection, 150 000 Viagra Tablets, valued at approximately R1,5-million.
All of the above cases were handed over to the Department of Health for further investigation.
