Around 88,000 counterfeit Viagra pills, and another 95,000 fake pills of other brands, were seized after a counterfeit ring was busted last year, worth an estimated 37 million yuan ($5.65 million).

The seizure included 1.42 million unfinished medicinal products, said Huang Shouying, Director of the Economic Crime Investigation Bureau, with the Guangdong Provincial Department of Public Security.

The announcement did not specify when the seizure was made, although it reported another successful, contemporaneous crackdown in Dongguan. In total, 23 arrests were made last year on counterfeiting medicine rings.

In November, the Dongguan Public Security Bureau announced that it had confiscated 1.8 million fake erectile dysfunction pills. The result of a five month-long investigation, the seizure included 440,000 finished pills and 1.4 million unfinished pills still in production (pictured above).

Guangdong has been a hotspot for counterfeit goods, particularly erectile dysfunction products such as Viagra.

In August 2014, some 140,000 counterfeit condoms and male performance enhancers worth RMB 3 million were seized from Guangdong factories in Chaozhou and Zhongshan, and three arrests were made. Another 140,000 fake Viagra pills were seized from a Qianhai residence in Shenzhen, Guangdong in February 2014. In 2012, a pharmacy in the City’s Luohu District was busted for selling fake pills.

In 2013, Medpage Today reported that almost 77 percent of male performance enhancement drugs purchased online were fake. In their study, they found that the fake pills tended to be a darker blue colour, and were heavier and thicker than the real pill.

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Pink to Viagra’s blue, Jin’ge, manufactured by Guanzhou Baiyunshan, is available in 30,000 drugstores in China and anticipates sales of over a billion yuan ($156 million) by 2017. In order to meet the company’s ambitious target, it has come up with an impressive sales tactic: competitive pricing. A 50 milligram Jin’ge pill costs just 48 yuan, 60 percent less than competitors; a ten pack retails for 345 yuan ($53).

Before the debut of Jin’ge, Viagra controlled more than 50 percent of China’s ED supplement market, while Cialis controlled about 34 percent. However, Pfizer’s Viagra patent in China expired in May 2014, after which Guangzhou Baiyunshan beat out 20 competitors to earn the rights from the State Food and Drug Administration to manufacture a generic equivalent.

Li Chuyuan, president of Guangzhou Baiyunshan’s parent company, Guangzhou Pharmaceutical Holdings Co Ltd., said Baiyunshan had started research and development on ED medicine that uses sildenafil, Viagra’s main ingredient, in the 1990s but had to halt its research after Viagra was patented in China in 2001.

In order to offer such low prices, while still developing a reputable product, Baiyunshan hired Nobel laureate Ferid Murad, “the father of Viagra,” for its research and development. Guangzhou Baiyunshan Deputy General Manager, Wang Wenchu, revealed plans to eventually sell Jin’ge on the international market. But even in the domestic market, non-Chinese customers are more willing to buy the drug than their Chinese counterparts.

Forty-six percent of Chinese men over 40 (about 127 million), suffer from erectile dysfunction, while only 4 percent seek treatment.

Wang hopes that Jin’ge’s competitive pricing will encourage Chinese men to overcome their reluctance to seek help. “The lower price has helped quickly expand sales channels,” said Wang.

Spreading awareness of men’s health and ED medicine is key to increasing sales among Chinese men, said drug retailer Lin Jingyan. “More Chinese men have been looking for ED medicine, which contributes a growing percentage of sales revenue to our store.”

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Prompted by an anonymous tip to police alleging that a number of 18 to 20 year old students at Beijing’s Midi School of Music were routinely smoking marijuana, police raided the school and took urine samples from the students in question.

According to media reports, between two and three hundred students, all male, were tested. Of the 16 arrested, most returned to school the following day, however Shanghai Daily reported that three students were detained for three days.

In a letter released late last week, the school apologized for failing to adequately supervise the students. The letter advised that local police are treating students leniently as they are first-time drug offenders who are all “sincere in their regret over the incident”. The letter went on to say that, “Students taking marijuana is definitely not good, but we have to give them chances to rectify their mistakes … music is a good cure”.

The Beijing Midi School of Music is China’s first music school devoted to modern music styles like rock and jazz. Founded in 1993, the school later spawned the popular annual Midi Music Festival held in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen.

Zhang said the raid would not affect the festival as drugs are strictly forbidden at the event.

China has undergone a strict crackdown on illegal drug use that has hit the entertainment industry hard, culminating in the arrests of several celebrities, the latest of which is 46 year-old singer Yin Xiangjie who was arrested for the second time two weeks ago for illegally possessing and taking drugs.

Wu Xin, head of the drug control bureau of the Ministry of Public Security, said there are more than 38,000 drug addicts under the age of 18 in China and nearly 1.9 million between 18 and 35.

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A Colombian model who came to China to take part in a beauty pageant may face the death penalty after being arrested on charges related to drug smuggling.

Authorities say they found a hidden stash of psychoactive drugs in Juliana Lopez’s personal computer when she arrived at Guangzhou Airport on July 18. The crime is punishable by death or life in prison.

The 22-year-old beauty was in Guangzhou to compete in the Miss World Medellin pageant this week. Since landing, though, her family says they haven’t been able to reach her.  Chinese authorities confirmed Lopez had been arrested and is in police custody.

Her local Colombian soccer team is putting on an exhibition in order to raise funds for her mother and a lawyer to go to China. Coach Alejandro Duque described Lopez as being “a good girl, student, model and was always committed to her team.”

Chinese authorities have arrested a number of foreign arrivals for drug-related crimes over the years. Last December, Australian Kalynda Davis was set free without charges after being arrested at Guangzhou Airport in possession of 36 kilograms of methamphetamine.

Related:

• Japanese politician arrested in Guangzhou on drugs charges
• Two Middle Eastern men swallow RMB2.25 million worth of drugs, arrive in Shenzhen
• South African woman, accused of bringing crystal meth into Guangzhou, executed today
• 8 Foreigners Arrested in Beijing in a Slew of Drug Raids

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More than 20 thousand boxes of fake drugs and several tons of raw materials were seized by police in Huzhou, Zhejiang after a three month investigation. The fake drugs were sold online using the popular WeChat social media platform to nearly 30 provinces and municipalities for a total value of about RMB 100 million ($16 million).

Sold by an online store called “Liu Lulu Milk’s Cosmetics”, the drugs were marketed as exclusive imports from abroad and included diet drugs and painkillers. But once people took he pills and complained of side effects, police were notified and later discovered the drugs contained illegal substances.

Fake drug manufacturing and sales continue to be a problem in China even after earlier crackdowns. Nearly 2 thousand suspects were arrested in a 2012 crackdown in which approximately $180 million worth of fake drugs were seized, including those used to treat hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. In 2013, about 1,300 suspects involved in counterfeit drug manufacture and sales were arrested by police, who seized over RMB 2.2 billion ($362 million) worth of fake drugs and raw materials.

Last year, judicial officials from China’s highest court warned that suspects convicted of crimes related to the sale and manufacture of fake drugs will face harsher penalties.

Meanwhile, opportunists have taken advantage of the surging Chinese interest in sex-enhancement pills. Hundreds of thousands of counterfeit Viagra pills were seized by police in the Pearl River Delta in 2012, 2014, and earlier this year.

Beijing pledged to clean up its domestic pharmaceutical industry following the deaths of at least 149 Americans who took contaminated Chinese supplies of the blood-thinner heparin in 2008. This followed the 2007 execution of the director of China’s food and drug agency who was convicted of approving deadly fake medicine in exchange for cash.

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The official Sina Weibo account of the Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau said a man, named Bian, was found dead when police arrived at a residence after receiving a tip that drugs could be found on the premises. After no one answered the door, police discovered an open window and gained access to the apartment.

Bian had been identified by the Beijing Times as a 32 year-old man from Jilin province, who had been working at a culture and mass media company. Chinese netizens speculated that the suspect was Bian Ce, who had hosted many television shows on China Central Televisions’ film channel and on Shanghai’s OTV.

Police reported that two small packets of methamphetamine and straws were found in his apartment. Tests later confirmed that Bian had trace amounts of amphetamine and methamphetamine in his blood. Police excluded the possibility of homicide, and stated that Bian died as a result of falling from his eighth floor residence.

A crackdown on drug use in Beijing has been especially hard on Chinese celebrities. Taiwanese star Kai Ko and Jaycee Chan, son of Chinese superstar Jackie Chan, were arrested in a drug raid on the latter’s Beijing residence last August. Li Daimo, Zhang Yuan, Ning Caishen, Zhang Mo, He Shengdong, and Gao Hu have also been arrested for drug crimes.

The consequences for being caught with drugs is more than potential jail time. The State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television (SARRFT) is banning all actors and hosts associated with drug and prostitution crimes from appearing in Chinese television and movies. There was no mention as to how long the ban would last.

Last year, China Daily reported that, out of the 7,800 people held on suspicion of taking drugs since the start of the year, 1 percent of those detained were celebrities.

Related:

• Jaycee Chan and Kai Ko To Lose Millions in Endorsements
• 8 Foreigners Arrested in Beijing in a Slew of Drug Raids
• Police Doing Spot Drug Tests at Beijing Bars

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Beijing police are cracking down on drug-related crimes, having arrested eight foreigners in separate incidents last month in Chaoyang District, home to much of the city’s nightlife.

Police raided a home in Xiangjiang Gardens on April 17, arresting two people named “Kevin” and “Haimishi”, both from New Zealand, who apparently were renting the place. They were charged with providing a place for people to do drugs. Also inside at the time were “Steven” and “Alex”, both from the USA, who police allege were doing drugs. Apparently police were tipped off to the apartment by staff at an international school, which had gleaned some clues off Facebook.

Then, the next day on April 18, a US expat named “Xiaowen” was arrested for possession of four grams of pot.

Xiaowen apparently led police to two more drug dealers the following day. Hanmu from Sierra Leone and Dashan from Mali were arrested on April 19. Hanmu was alleged to have been carrying 9.25 grams of crystal meth and 1.93 grams of heroin, while Dashan had 22.46 grams of methamphetamine.

Finally, on April 22, a US citizen named “Jane”, who was working at the Jingxi School on Guangying East Road, was arrested for consuming drugs.

Steven, Alex, Haimishi, Kevin, Xiaowen, and Jane all tested positive for marijuana in a urine test and police say they have confessed to their crimes.

Steven and Alex have been sent to jail for providing accommodation for drug consumption, while Xiaowen and Hanmu were sent off for drug trafficking and Dashan for criminal possession of drugs.

Beijing has received about 3,000 public reports of drug use since last September, an increase of nearly four times the normal rate. To encourage city residents to report more often, a three-tiered incentive system rewards tipsters with between RMB 1,000 and RMB 5,000 for reports that lead to a conviction.

Chaoyang, home to the infamous Sanlitun nightlife district, has also been associated with many high-profile drug arrests of Chinese celebrities like singer Li Daimo, Taiwanese star Kai Ko, and Jaycee Chan, son of Chinese superstar Jackie Chan.

Related:

• Australian Set Free After Drug Smuggling Arrest in Guangzhou
• Chinese Drug Addicts Rehabilitated by Tempting Them with More Drugs
• Nigerian man caught using Chinese girlfriend to smuggle drugs out of Guangdong
• Meth The Latest Date Rape Drug of Choice in China?

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The foreign suspects’ nationalities have not been disclosed; but, police confirmed that the leaders’ names are Odunukwe Chinedu and Abdoulaye.

Already implicated in 5 robbery cases and 2 drug cases, the “Freedom Fighters” are described as a sophisticated gang consisting of a three-tiered hierarchy: a leader that consulted with a “clergyman”, a middle-tier acting as supervisors, and a lower-tier consisting of hired thugs used to rob, extort, distribute drugs, and other illegal activities.

The gang did not keep a low profile with regard to its activities. In an odd twist, they advertised their existence selling t-shirts and other paraphernalia emblazoned with their logo.

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In a specially-designed room meant to simulate a karaoke bar, patient Zhang Li sits in front of a number of large glass jars containing fake drugs while hooked up to a computer that monitors heart rate and blood pressure to determine how anxious he is, and therefore how much he’s struggling to avoid the narcotics.

The rather unorthodox test is done in conjunction with psychological guidance and physical therapy that oddly includes hopscotch and dancing said to “gradually get rid of evil”.

This is Zhang’s third time in rehab. He is confident that unusual approaches such as the “karaoke temptation test” will help him to finally kick his habit. “My feeling is that this time will be different from all the other times [I’ve been to rehab] because the clinic places an emphasis on psychological triggers, making me more confident that I will be able to successfully fight against the temptation of drugs.“

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Shanghai police made their largest-ever drug bust when they raided a drug-producing factory in Lufeng, Guangdong and seized a record 2.4 tons of methamphetamine.

Shanghai police had originally launched the investigation after a drug bust in the city’s Hongkou district. After leads took them to Lufeng, in Guangdong, they began cooperating with local cops and raided an area notorious for methamphetamine production on January 30. Lufeng is known as the “meth capital of China“.

Twenty-eight people were nabbed in the raid. They include the “foreman” of the factory, two technical staff, an apprentice, and three manual workers.

Also confiscated in the raid were firearms, ammunition, and RMB 1.51 million in drug money.

One of the ringleaders of the drug gang, a man named Chen, was finally subdued after a shootout with police that resulted in one officer getting shot. Chen had been driving the second car in a two-car procession during an attempted drug delivery.

Five suspects that were able to elude the police raid are reported to have been captured.

Related:

• Lufeng Drug Lab Disguised As Pig Farm Raided By Police
• China’s Walter White Is Breaking Bad in Guangzhou
• Drug-Riddled Guangdong Town Presents Challenge to Police

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