New York: US law enforcement agencies have busted a major fake viagra racket and indicted an Indian firm and four others in this connection.

Prosecutors said Girish Vishwanath, director of exports for Benzo Chemical Industries in Mumbai, is among those charged with manufacturing and selling bogus viagra pills over the Internet.

Undercover investigators bought 25,000 pills for about $ 38,000 during the investigation lasting 17 months, they said adding seven people have been arrested.

A Chinese and a Hong Kong firm are also among those indicted in the racket.

Pfizer Corp, which makes viagra, has a huge market in the US for the pill prized at $ 10 while a fake viagra can be obtained for anywhere between 51 cents and $ 6, the prosecutors say.

The accused have been charged with violation of trademark counterfeiting laws, criminal diversion of prescription medication and prescriptions, forgery, possession of forged instruments, and possessing forgery devices.

The sentence, if convicted, could go upto 15 years in prison. The pills, they say, were smuggled in by concealing them in teddy bears and stereo speakers that were also seized.

The fake viagra contained the active ingredient of the original, but differed in content, say the investigators, who however, could not say whether the pills were effective.

Pfizer Inc. when contacted said, "Law enforcement actions will help protect US consumers from fraudulent pharmaceutical products."

PTI