Housewives are in for a short night thanks to the long arm of the law.
RCMP and the Canadian Border Services Agency have yanked thousands of cases of adulterated erectile dysfunction pills, and other supplements, from mail sorting lines in recent months.
RCMP border integrity spokesperson Sgt. Duncan Pound said the counterfeit drugs are being sold to unsuspecting Canadians online and smuggled into the country through the postal service.
And while importing any pharmaceutical drugs is illegal, police are more concerned about the risk to buyers - since the goods passed off as the real deal usually come up short.
"You have no idea what is in the product and how it will affect you," Pound said. "You are playing Russian roulette with your health."
The CBSA opened their doors to media yesterday to show off a mountain of pills recently seized at the Vancouver International Mail Centre, which included a box full of 5,000 fake Viagra packages plucked by officials Wednesday.
The centre's chief of operations, Heather Ardiel, said there's no indication how big the market is but officers are diligent about clamping down on the trade, which is usually the domain of organized crime.
"We're pretty satisfied not a lot of these products make it through," Ardiel said. "In six months, we've intercepted 15,000 parcels containing unapproved drugs."
Both organizations are currently involved in Operation Pangea II, an Interpol-led crackdown on the counterfeit drug trade involving police and health agencies from 26 countries around the world.
In the meantime, men looking for a boost are being told to go through their doctor or pharmacy.
"If you order online, you are almost certainly throwing your money away," Pound said.
