Fake dietary tablets seized in NBI raids

MANILA, Philippines—The National Bureau of Investigation confiscated hundreds of counterfeit tablets bearing the brand of a dietary supplement for men, following a raid on eight Chinese drugstores around Metro Manila on Friday.

If taken, the fake Robust tablets could cause heart palpitations and lead to other complications instead of enhancing virility as promised in its advertisements, according to Bingo Chiu, an agent under the NBI’s Intellectual Property Rights Division.

Chiu said the raids were conducted in coordination with representatives from the Food and Drugs Administration.

“They (fake supplements) are dangerous because they give negative results and, instead of being stimulants, they give the opposite effect,’’ Chiu said.

NBI-IPRD and FDA operatives served search warrants on the establishments, whose owners face charges for violation of Republic Act No. 8203 or the Act Prohibiting Counterfeit Drugs. Nancy C. Carvajal