Israel Authorities Catch Smuggler with Counterfeit Drugs at Airport

A man was recently caught trying to smuggle more than 5,000 doses of counterfeit drugs into Israel.

Authorities seized Chen Ben-Zion at Ben Gurion International Airport, after seeing the counterfeit drugs in an x-ray scanner, according to Haaretz.com.

Ben-Zion arrived in Israel on a flight from Georgia. Authorities pulled him aside and told him that he would be undergoing an invasive x-ray check. Despite this warning, Ben-Zion did not admit to carrying the large amount of counterfeit drugs.

The man told authorities that he had brought the 5,500 Valerian pills, 100 Nutropin tablets and 20 bottles filled with other types of medications into Israel for his personal use, reports the news source.

Ben-Zion was released from Israel police custody on probation during the afternoon following his arrest.

Recent reports have indicated that the most common counterfeit drugs in Israel are medication intended to treat erectile dysfunction. This is a commonly faked drug across the world in part because many men are embarrassed about asking their doctor for a prescription.