Professor arrested over illegal impotency drugs

A university professor who allegedly sold dietary supplements he illegally made to treat male impotency was arrested Wednesday. He was identified only as Choi, 60.

Choi allegedly made supplements that contained sildenafil, tadalafil and amino-tadalafil and sold them to distributors in 2009 when he was teaching at a private college. He sold about 250 million won worth of the supplements.

Sildenafil and tadalafil are used in erectile dysfunction medications such as Viagra, but they should only be used with a doctor’s prescription.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said the ingredients can cause heart attacks when taken by people with cardiovascular problems.

Cho was arrested five years and five months after he fled police in 2010.