A Brighton man has been jailed for his part in a £10 million fake Viagra scam.
Darrell Jacob, 38, of Hereford Street, Brighton, was sent to prison four years at the Central Criminal Court – better known as the Old Bailey – in London today (Friday 29 May).
Jacob was jailed for the four-year stretch by Judge Charles Wide for setting up a mail order business to sell fake drugs.
He admitted money laundering and two charges of the sale and supply of unlicensed medicines.
He was part of a gang of of 12 men and women. Eleven of them were previously sentenced to a total of more than 20 years in prison.
They included
Neil Gilbert, 42, of Wanderdown Close, Ovingdean, who was jailed for six years for masterminding the scam.
Seth Pennington, 42, of Hartington Road, Brighton, who was jailed for five years.
Gilbert’s partner Kristina Soufalakis, 27, of Wanderdown Close, Ovingdean, who was jailed for two and a half years.
A fourth gang member from Brighton, Lee Pettit, 36, of Haybourne Close, Whitehawk, was given a 22-week suspended prison sentence and ordered to do 150 hours of unpaid work.
The gang had been selling counterfeit and unlicensed drugs over the internet since 2004.
Their operation was closed down by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency in 2011.
The judge congratulated the agency for a “meticulously managed and well-focused case”.
The agency’s head of enforcement Alastair Jeffrey said: “This case shows the level and scale of organised criminality involved in the sale of unlicensed medicines.
“Those involved repeatedly tried to evade detection and made millions of pounds from their illegal activities.
“This has been a long and complex international investigation and is one of the largest we have ever prosecuted and the clear message from this case is that, if you buy medicines online, you are potentially trusting a criminal to look after your health.
“If you are ill and need treatment, a visit to your GP is the best course of action. We recommend that medicines are obtained from a legitimate high street or online pharmacy.”
