A 24-year-old was this morning fined €23,000 condemned to a one-year jail term suspended for two years after pleading guilty to selling fake Viagra and breaching trademark legislation.

However, the court found Brady Abela not guilty of putting on the market a medicinal product without authorisation, of wholesaling such items without a license and of acting as a chemist by selling from unlicensed premises.

The court said it could not find the accused guilty of the above since the Malta Medicines Authority did not give the accused a notice in writing giving him the option to pay a fine.

The court ordered the confiscation of the counterfeit drugs as well as their boxes and medical literature and the hard drives of his computer.

The drives, it said, should be destroyed after expert Martin Bajada copies his family photos.

Lawyers Joseph Giglio and Luigi Sansone appeared for Pfizer Inc, the manufacturers of Viagra.

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