Counterfeit condoms sold to stores in midlands

Faulty counterfeit condoms sold under the Durex brand name have been discovered in two non-pharmacy outlets, the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) has confirmed.

The recent wave of counterfeit condoms, some of which have holes in them and do not offer protection against pregnancy or sexually-transmitted disease, were believed to be available only in pharmacies.

However, the IMB yesterday discovered boxes of the fake Durex in two shops in the midlands, and is investigating the possibility that they are on sale in other non-pharmacy outlets.

A Meath-based company, Sundrelle Ltd, imported the condoms from Britain last year. Sundrelle said it believed the condoms were genuine Durex, and came from a reputable supplier.

However, Sundrelle is not an authorised Durex distributor. IMB has said it had advised pharmacies only to buy from the authorised distributor, Allphar Services Ltd.

Sundrelle was thought to have only sold to pharmacies. However, on checking the firm's records, the IMB found it had sold to Texas department stores in Mullingar and Tullamore.

The IMB said yesterday it was continuing its examination of Sundrelle's records, and would know this week if the condoms were available in other retail outlets.

The IMB has estimated that just under 500,000 faulty condoms were in circulation in Ireland over the last 10 months. Only 9,000 of these have been recovered. The IMB is urging consumers not to use the condoms regardless of where they were bought. They were sold as Durex Featherlite 12-pack, batch number: VR3073 U or C or E, expiry date: 2008/02, and Durex Extra Safe 12-pack batch number: 20602503 expiry date: 2007/11.