A passenger flying from India to Savannah, Georgia was intercepted by federal officers at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport on Thursday carrying nearly $100,000 worth of erectile dysfunction pills, according to the Chicago Tribune.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) spokesman Steven Bansbach said authorities found eight black-and-white boxes in his luggage totaling 3,200 pills of Vigore, an erectile dysfunction medication with active ingredients similar to Viagra.
The pills were worth an estimated $96,608, according to a news release. The man said he had items that he needed to declare when he arrived at O'Hare so he was sent to a secondary inspection site by CBP. It was there that officers found the pills.
Asked what the pills were and why he had so many, the traveler said they were purchased over-the-counter in India and that he was bringing them back to the U.S. for his friends. But Vigore is considered a prescription medication, which is not allowed to be transported into the U.S. from another country.
"Prescription medications manufactured in non-regulated foreign companies often contain dangerous contaminants or ineffective compounds, and though their packaging and labeling can be similar to genuine products, inconsistent ingredients and subpar quality controls can endanger the consumer," said the agency in a news release.
The upshot? The man surrendered the pills but will not face any further charges or fines, Bansbach said.
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