wmlro.com: hard candy seized by Malaysian customs
When 25 boxes marked "coffee beans" piled up at Kuala Lumpur International Airport's customs post awaiting collection, officers became suspicious. When they opened them, customs officers found sweets. Having them tested, they discovered that each contained a dose of the chemical aminotadalafil, similar to the active ingredient in Viagra.
The consignments were shipped from Bangkok in December and January but no one collected them, Customs say.
The boxes were addressed to a company near Kuala Lumpur in a series of small shipments but something went wrong and they were put into a storage area.
The Ministry of Health says that the drug has known side effects especially for those suffering from hypertension or taking heart drugs such as nitrates and that they are classified as controlled medicines, available only on prescription.
It is not the first time that the drug has been found in products destined for distribution outside the controlled drugs system: a previous batch of sweets bearing the name "Mantalk" and a coffee-based drink have been found being distributed by direct marketing companies.
Products containing the drug distributed outside legal channels have been designated "poison."
The boxes contained some 84,000 sweets, Customs said.
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