Brussels - Some 34 million counterfeit pills have been seized by European Union customs officials over the past two months alone, officials in Brussels said Tuesday. Faked versions of the male anti-impotence drug Viagra were among the most frequently-seized items, along with painkillers, antibiotics, anti-cancer, anti-malaria and anti-cholesterol medicines.
The seizures were part of stepped-p efforts by the EU to prevent such products from entering the 27-member bloc. Most of the fake drugs were produced in India, Pakistan and China, officials said.
Laszlo Kovacs, the EU's Commissioner for Taxation and Customs, said the higher-than-expected number of seizures helped protect "citizens and legitimate business from new and increasing security and safety threats."
The EU's executive arm, the European Commission, said the countries that had been most effective in seizing counterfeit medicines were Belgium, France, Britain and Spain.
The biggest seizure took place at Brussels airport, where 2.2 million counterfeit tablets, most of them painkillers, were found.
