Dilip Kuner
A DISAPPOINTED man put in an official complaint when he bought condoms that turned out to be too small for him.
He had purchased what were later revealed to be counterfeit Durex from a grocery store in the Barcelona district of Les Corts. When it came time to use them, he found himself in a tight spot.
On unwrapping the offending articles, he discovered they were far too short for him – not something he was used to with the genuine brand.
So he decided to stand up and be counted and headed off to put in an official complaint with the Ministry of Health’s Spanish Medical Agency (AEMPS).
They in turn called in the Mossos d’Esquadra Catalan regional police when they spotted basic spelling mistakes – such as ‘eral’ instead of ‘oral’ – on the packaging. Durex confirmed the condoms were fake.
Now, after a two-year investigation, a Spaniard and a Pakistani aged 48 and 53 have been reported for selling 15,000 packs of fake Durex and 41,000 other condoms that don’t meet health and quality standards to small shops and supermarkets in Cataluñya.
According to Sargent Xavier Tarres, the head of the Mossos d’Esquadra’s consumer unit, this was the first known case of fake condoms being sold in Spain.
During the investigation, police seized 700 packs of counterfeit Durex and 11,700 packs of condoms that did not have the CE quality certification mark. Receipts showed many more had been sold over the years.
Local minimarkets were buying the fakes from street-sellers who were acting as distributors for the two wholesalers, who have been reported to the courts.
Police said they have not been to trace the origin of the fakes, but believe they may have come from China.
The non-certified condoms were made by companies in India then distributed by a company in the Netherlands.
