A factory manufacturing illegal Viagra worth 16 billion won was ordered to be confiscated again in the appellate court.
On the 11th, the Food and Drug Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Western District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Park Hyang-cheol) announced that on the 31st of last month, confiscation was ordered for the illegal Viagra manufacturing factory (including the building and land). While there have been cases where buildings used for prostitution were confiscated, this is the first time that an illegal Viagra manufacturing factory has been ordered confiscated.
They are accused of producing and selling about 1.5 million counterfeit Viagra pills and Cialis from September 2020 to March of this year. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) referred them to the prosecution in June, and on the 11th of the same month, the prosecution indicted Mr. Ahn, in his 60s, and his younger brother, in his 50s, without detention on charges of violating the Pharmaceutical Affairs Act. The prosecution, in cooperation with the MFDS, froze the illegal Viagra manufacturing factory through a civil provisional injunction.
A prosecution official said, "In the case of buildings used for prostitution, freezing is possible through confiscation preservation under the special provisions of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment, etc. of Specific Crimes on Concealment of Criminal Proceeds, but the illegal Viagra manufacturing factory does not fall under the scope of these special provisions, so freezing during the investigation stage was not easy. Nevertheless, we froze it through a civil injunction prohibiting disposition and then confiscated it," adding, "We will continue to do our best to protect public health and thoroughly recover criminal proceeds and items provided for criminal activities in cooperation with related agencies."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
