A counterfeit drug gang has been jailed after raking in £10million by selling fake Viagra while pretending to be a fishing tackle bu
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Judge Charles Wide QC described it as a 'highly organised, large-scale criminal enterprise' which risked the health of members of the public, as he sentenced the gang at the Old Ba
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The UK-wide conspiracy offered cheap erectile dysfunction pills to online and face-to-face customers around the
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This was a 'sophisticated and carefully planned' scam which had bases in north-east Lincolnshire and Sussex, the judg
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A counterfeit drug gang has been jailed after raking in £10million by selling fake Viagra. Neil Gilbert (pictured left) was jailed for six years and Catherine Laverick (right) was sentenced to three years and 10
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He said the 'the real mischief is the catastrophic damage that could be caused' to the public, noting that genuine drug companies had pointed out that acid, brick dust and road paint had been found in fake Vi
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One group based in southern England was headed by Neil Gilbert, 42, who made up to £60,000 a week selling unlicensed and counterfeit drugs to unsuspecting cus
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The northern branch was led by Thailand-based Stephen Laverick, but his ex-wife Catherine Laverick, 47, was in charge of day-to-day operations in th
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And their family members and friends were recruited to assist with the massive criminal enterprise.
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The court heard the conspiracy lasted eight years from 2004 and continued even after the gang were arrested in September 2011 following an investigation by the drugs regulatory body, MH
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They had used a series of 'front' companies claiming to sell jewellery, fishing tackle and cosmetics to accept the electronic pa
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Proceeds were then laundered through more than 100 bank accounts both in the UK and abroad.<<br>
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The gang offered fake Viagra pills to unsuspecting customers around the world. File ph
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Huge sums of money were transferred between the conspirators, sent offshore or, were withdrawn in cash in the UK or
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The money laundered or obtained through fraud by all of the defendants totalled £8,444,896.<<br>
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Prosecutor Gillian Jones said: 'This case is not about wanting to distribute good medicines cheaply, but rather the motivation was greed, with an utter disregard for patient
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'The medicines that were seized which were purported to be Viagra and Valium in fact turned out to be counterfeit,' the prosecuto
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'This was big business. The proceeds of the supply of these medicines via websites which have been traced to various merchant facilities is in excess of £10 million - that is not the real
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'Not all bank accounts have been identified. Some are abroad and haven't been traced properly and some medicines were paid for in
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An audit kept by Gilbert revealed that the gang received £60,000 a week from the sale of unlicensed medicines during 2011 alone - a turnover of more than £3m
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The money was transferred into bank accounts held by members of the conspiracy or their relatives before being withdrawn in cash or used to sustain the business, the court
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Miss Jones added: 'There is no doubt a conspiracy to sell these unlicensed medicines existed. They had to set up and maintain websites through which medicines were sold, rent storage units and packing c
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'Offices were rented, stationary and packaging purchased, mail boxes rented to which customers posted cash and merchant banking facilities to allow payments by
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'They purported to be trading fishing tackle, cosmetics or jewellery but they were just a front to hide the real merchandise which was unlicensed med
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Seth Pennington (pictured outside the Old Bailey) who was described as Gilbert's right-hand man and carried out the day-to-day operations under the directions of his boss, was jailed for fiv
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Kristina Sofoulakis (left) was jailed for two-and-a-half years and Mark Bristow (right) was jailed for fou
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'As demand for the products grew the customer database widened to countries in Europe including Sweden, France and Ge
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When banks started raising concerns about the nature of the business, the gang opened accounts offshore in Belize and Panama where fewer questions were
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Gilbert, of Ovingdean, Brighton pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply unlicensed medicines, two counts of money laundering, possession of counterfeit Valium and possession of counterfeit Vi
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He was jailed for a total of six years at the Old Bailey. <<br>
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His partner Kristina Sofoulakis, also of Ovingdean, Brighton, admitted conspiracy to supply medicines and money laundering in the UK and of
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She was jailed for two-and-a-half years. She had worked as a book keeper, monitoring orders and paym
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Sarah Laverick (pictured) was handed a 16-month jail term, suspended for two years and was ordered to carry out 200 hours' unpa
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Catherine Laverick, of Ulceby, South Humberside, admitted conspiracy to supply unlicensed medicines and money laundering in the UK and ab
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She was jailed for three years and 10 mont
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Her son, Thomas Laverick, was spared jail after being given a 14-month sentence, suspended for two
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He set up the fake company 'Shore Catch' to buy medicines and launder money. <<br>
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His sister Sarah Laverick was handed a 16-month jail term, which was also suspended for two years. She was ordered to carry out 200 hours' unpai
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She pleaded guilty to fraud and money laundering.<<br>
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The 26-year-old set up the fake fishing tackle company to help with buying medicines and laundered money through numerous bank acco
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Hugh Adair (left) was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years and Donna Denton (right) was sentenced to eight months, suspended for 18
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Catherine Laverick's former partner Hugh Adair was given a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years and ordered to carry out 200 hours' unpai
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Adair, 37, of Brighton, helped with the day-to-day running as well as facilitating payment for the purchase of medic
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He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply unlicensed medicines and fraud
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Seth Pennington, 42, who was described as Gilbert's right-hand man and carried out the day-to-day operations under the directions of his boss, was jailed for five y
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Pennington, of Brighton, admitted conspiracy to sell or supply unlicensed medicines, selling or distributing counterfeit goods (Viagra), two counts of money laundering, 슈퍼카마그라 one of possession of counterfeit goods purporting to be Valium and one count of possession of a medicinal product (Kamagra) without marketing authorisa
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Daniel Nilsen (left) was sentenced to four months imprisonment, suspended for a year and Lee Pettit (right) was sentenced to 22 weeks, suspended for
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Mark Bristow, 카마그라 45, acted as the middle man between the northern and southern parts of the enterprise, liasing directly with Catherine Laverick and Gilbe
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Bristow pleaded guilty to conspiracy to supply unlicensed medicines, selling or distributing counterfeit Viagra and money laundering. He was jailed for four years.