2 Investigators: Fake Viagra Could Kill You

November 17, 2011 12:00 AM " CHICAGO (CBS) — Filthy warehouses filled with fake prescription drugs have been raided in numerous countries. Countless dangerous pills have been seized before they could head to the United States.

CBS 2′s Dave Savini worked with U.S. Customs and Border Protection to examine the booming “pill mill” industry.

Agency spokesman Brian Bell opened boxes of pills that had been seized by Customs at O’Hare International Airport. These pills had been sold via the Internet and were being shipped to people who believed they were buying the erectile-dysfunction medication Viagra.

Counterfeit samples Bell displayed had the wrong color or were labeled incorrectly. One batch was labeled Vilagra.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say counterfeit Viagra, Levitra and Cialis, all erectile dysfunction pills, are flooding the market. Last year, officers seized 330 shipments of fake erectile-dysfunction pills. This year, that number nearly quadrupled to 1,200 seizures.

These pills can be dangerous for a number of reasons. Often they are manufactured in dirty, disgusting, black-market labs overseas.

What is inside the pills could make you sick. Some bogus manufacturers put high doses of Sildenafil, the active ingredient in erectile-dysfunction medication, into the pills "

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