Sildenafil citrate, which is also sold as Viagra, is among the top 15 counterfeited brands in terms of seized quantity followed by sports gear brand Nike and cigarette brand Marlboro, the annual report of the World Customs Organisation, an independent intergovernmental global organisation based in Brussels, says.
About 22.2 million pieces (2.24 crore) were reported to be found in 2011. The remaining brands were Nike with 5.8 million pieces (58 lakh), Marlboro, stationery brand BIC, Nesmark contraceptive products with 3.2 million pieces each (about 32 lakh each), it said.
The report, which was released last month, was prepared on the basis of inputs of 68 member nations of the World Customs Organisation.
"The United States is the country that reported the most cases in 2011 (9,761 cases). This is followed by Germany, France, Saudi Arabia and Japan," it said.
Italy reported the largest quantity of items (in pieces: 39.2 million or 3.9 crore of aggregate quantity), followed by Bulgaria (20.6 million or 2.6 crore), the United States (18.7 million or 1.87 crore), Saudi Arabia (18.3 million or 1.83 crore) and France (6.7 million or 67 lakh), it said.
Other brands like Duracell with seizures of 18 lakh pieces, Nokia (16 lakh), Gillette (9.55 lakh) and Benson & Hedges (8.03 lakh) were also among the list. (More)
