Police have seized an eight-tonne haul of illegal Viagra-style male sex pills worth nearly GBP 10 million after breaking up a drug trafficking gang in Germany and Denmark.
The counterfeit drugs were first smuggled into Denmark and then sold on through Europe by a criminal gang operating at the German border, say prosecutors.
Police have arrested six people who now face years behind bars for violating anti-doping laws, reported local media.
Hamburg Customs Investigation Office in Germany, and South Jutland Police in Denmark, seized 6.4 million pills and ampoules.
The haul – confiscated on two raids in June and July – weighs a total of eight tonnes (17,637 lbs).
Police also seized tens of thousands of Euros in the raids, it emerged.
Hamburg Customs said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “This is one of the largest seizures of doping substances in Europe.
“The black market value of the products seized in this process is estimated to be more than EUR 11.5 million [GBP 9.8 million].”
Police said the first raid on 13th June led to six arrests.
They told local media: “Six people were arrested, while two properties in Germany and six more in Denmark were searched.
“A total of 1.3 million different pieces of potency drugs worth several million euros, cash within the five-digit-range, significant amounts of different doping substances and online data were secured.
“A total of 160 officers from the Danish police and the Hamburg Customs Investigation Office were involved in this operation.”
During the second raid on 7th July, police seized more than 780,000 ampoules, in addition to 3.3 million pills stored in a warehouse in Denmark.
They added: “More than 450,000 tablets with substances that fall under the Danish Narcotics Act and more than 580,000 different sexual enhancement pills were seized.
“Moreover, countless packaging, empty ampoules, adhesive labels, and leaflets were seized, which indicate illegal manufacture of at least some of these products.”
Head of the Customs Criminal Police Office, Dr Tino Igelmann, emphasised the importance of international cooperation in the battle against drug smuggling.
Igelmann said: “This investigation is an excellent example of the importance of international cooperation of law enforcement agencies.
“We stick together with our European partners when it comes to dismantling criminal structures that threaten the health of the citizens of our countries.”
