Manchester graduate who sold Viagra-like drugs online has been jailed

A University of Manchester graduate has been jailed for importing and selling illegal drugs on eBay and Amazon.

Antoine Christopher Kolias was sentenced to three and a half years in prison on Friday.

Kolias, 31, has a degree in business administration from Manchester, Southwark Crown Court heard.

He was prosecuted after an investigation by the Medicine and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) criminal enforcement division (CEU) found that he was acting as a distributor for an established, unlicensed medicines retailer, as well as running his own unlicensed business.

He sold sildenafil citrate, the active ingredient in Viagra, as well as the Class C drugs tramadol, zopiclone and pregabalin.

He sold the products containing sildenafil on the marketplaces Amazon and eBay, claiming they were a “100% natural remedy” and a “risk-free” treatment for erectile dysfunction.

Kolias designed and ordered his own packaging and sold the products under his own brand names: Vital-X, VigoreX and Vowex.

He first came under suspicion when British Border Force officers intercepted a number of parcels during routine checks at airports and in the postal system.

The MHRA’s criminal enforcement division, which collects and analyses criminal intelligence to identify illegal activity involving medical products, has launched an investigation codenamed Operation Bentley.

In October 2019, it searched two residential addresses and two storage facilities connected to Kolias in north London and Manchester. In London, CEU officers discovered 97,000 tablets, including products marketed as treatments for erectile dysfunction, as well as tramadol and zopiclone.

During a three-week trial in May, the jury heard that Kolias, after appearing in court and while on bail, had re-established his unlicensed drug business.

British Border Force officers intercepted four more parcels, sent from China and containing more than 170,000 doses, destined for his sister’s address.

The court heard that Kolias had used a friend’s personal details to re-establish his Amazon sales platform. From there he sold products containing sildenafil citrate. Again, he used his own brand name in a product called Evoxa.

Kolias was convicted of 16 charges relating to the distribution of illegal medicines between the summer of 2018 and October 2019, and between 2020 and 2021. These include knowingly and wilfully engaging in the evasion of a prohibition on the import of goods; importing a medicine from a state other than an EEA state; and possessing a Class C medicine with intent to supply.

Following Kolias’ conviction, the MHRA warned of the techniques criminals use to sell medicines illegally online. Sometimes they use websites that mimic legitimate pharmacies or retailers, and sometimes they advertise via online marketplaces or social media.

“The MHRA advises the public to exercise caution when buying medicines online. Medicines are not ordinary consumer goods and their sale and supply are strictly controlled,” a spokesperson said.

“Websites operating outside the legal supply chain may seem tempting, for example by offering a prescription drug without a prescription. These sites are not only breaking the law, they are also putting your health at risk.”