In court over Maltese 'Viagra'

You're not the only one receiving e-mails selling fake male impotency pills. The company that sells Viagra also received one of them, only to find a Maltese 22-year-old man on the other end of the line allegedly peddling pills that later turned out to be fakes.

An employee of the American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. was alerted to an e-mail advertising a website that sold the supposed Viagra pills.

Police Inspector Yvonne Farrugia told a court yesterday that the company placed an order and tested the pills it received, establishing that they were an exact pharmacological replica of the originals, but unlicensed. They were identical even in appearance, down to the trademark blue colour, the shape and Viagra's distinctive markings. The box and the instruction pamphlet accompanying the pills were also copies.

The company traced the website to an address in Malta and alerted the health authorities who in turn called the police.

They arrested young Brady Abela from Tarxien and charged him for making and selling the pills without being a pharmacist or having a licence to trade.

When his house was searched the police seized a number of loose pills, boxes and instruction leaflets. Allegedly, Mr Abela's clients included people from Estonia and England.

Police Inspector Yvonne Farrugia prosecuted. Lawyers Joseph Giglio and Luigi Sansone appeared for Pfizner Inc. while Toni Abela appeared for Mr Abela.