A businessman from China was arrested on the suspicion of adding a drug found in Viagra to a local form of Chinese white liquor, with the intention of increasing his sales.
The suspect, whose last name is believed to be Huang, is the owner of a liquor factory in the Jianshi County, in the central Chinese province of Hubei. The local white liquor that Huang was tampering is known as Baijiu.
In January, Huang bought a kilogram of Sildenafil online and was adding it to the white liquor in his factory. The chemical Sildenafil is a component used to treat erectile dysfunction. Huang started mixing the chemical with Baijiu in February, according to reports by a local newspaper, People's Daily.
He reportedly bought powdered Sildenafil worth ¥2,400 (US $390), and added 130 milligrams of the powder to every 100 millilitres of Baijiu. In total, he reportedly produced 750 litres of the drink, the local police said.
Huang brewed almost 2,000 bottles of the liquor in his factory, 420 of which were sold in Wuhan, the provincial capital; 750 bottles were sold at the Jianshi County; while 810 bottles were presented as gifts to many of his friends, families and associates. Each of these bottles contained 100 millilitres of the concoction.
While Huang paid ¥2,400 (US $390) for the Sildenafil powder, he charged ¥30 (US $4.88) for every bottle he sold. This means that he earned more than ¥35,100 (US $5,700) in sales of his special liquor. It is not known whether he charged any amount for the 810 bottles he allegedly "distributed" to his friends and others.
If found guilty, Huang could land himself in a big trouble, as adding Sildenafil to the local white liquor is banned in China. According to scientists, the concoction is harmful to people who have cardiovascular diseases, and could leave long lasting side effects in such people.
The local police are currently trying to track down all the bottles that Huang has sold in the two districts and the gifted ones. Tracking down all these bottles could turn out to be quite a monumental task for the local police force.
