Two men given prison sentences for trafficking counterfeit drugs

Two men have been sentenced to federal prison in Houston, Texas for trafficking counterfeit prescription drugs.

The defendants, Martex Alando Gurley, 41, and Victor Lamar Coates, 47, jointly trafficked more than 22,000 counterfeit tablets, including Viagra and Cialis.

Gurley has been sentenced to more than six years in prison and ordered to pay $410,508 to compensate Pfizer and Eli Lilly, the licensed patent and trademark owners of Viagra and Cialis, respectively.

Coates received a sentence of nearly four years and has been ordered to pay $314,565.

The drugs, which were sold in the Houston area, were illegally imported into the US from China.

According to a press release by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the counterfeit products, labels and packaging looked very similar to authentic Viagra and Cialis products.

Gurley has been taken into custody, while Coates has been permitted to remain on bond.