Three Sought in £9m Viagra Scam

An international police hunt is under way for a Briton and two Americans who allegedly made millions of pounds by selling fake Viagra over the internet to thousands of customers across Europe.

The gang allegedly made €12m (£9.36m) between 2002 and 2005 by selling counterfeit Viagra and Cialis, which is also used to treat erectile malfunction, to up to 50,000 victims. The fake pills were distributed from Germany but the "brains" of the operation are thought to be based in Majorca. A German judge, who is leading the investigation, named the suspects as Peter Badham, 42, who is British and Charles Sabatino, 48, and Richard Jay Adler, 71, who are American.

An international arrest warrant has been issued in Germany for the three alleged leaders of the gang, which also sold bogus Reductil and Xenical slimming pills. German police have asked for the help of a specialized Spanish police unit that tracks down fugitives. The suspects are believed to live in three villages in Majorca.

They were said to have controlled a network of companies and collaborators across Europe. The drugs were distributed from Saarbrücken, in western Germany, where the police operation is based.

The gang sent millions of emails to potential customers across Europe and demanded advance payment for the fake pills, which were cheaper than the real thing. A week after customers paid, they received the bogus Viagra, Cialis or other medication by post.

The police operation was launched in 2005 after a series of complaints to German police.