Call Kurtis Investigation: Illegal & Deadly Diet Pills

List of Banned Pills: http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/pressannouncements/ucm149547.htm

It's the battle of the bulge, and the everlasting quest to lose weight.    There are diet pills out there that may help shed the pounds.    But they're illegal.

In a Call Kurtis Hidden Camera Investigation, Kurtis Ming shows us where they're coming from and how easy it is to find them.

The Food and Drug Administration says the diet pills from China are marketed under dozens of names, like 2 Day Diet, Slim 3 in 1, Perfect Slim, and Slim Express.   The government says the pills are laced with high levels of the proven dangerous drug sibutramine.

"It does suppress your appetite and that's motivating for people," said Dr. Liz Applegate, Director of Sports Nutrition at U.C. Davis.

 Some say these pills seem to work, but Dr. Applegate says the risks are high.

The FDA warns sibutramine can cause heart attacks and strokes, but the labels, say nothing about the drug hidden inside.

"These people aren't aware that the pills have a banned substance known to cause heart trouble, arrhythmias and high blood pressure," Applegate said.

Federal agents are trying to stop these black market pills from getting across the border.    Customs and Border Protection Agent Ed Low says they've intercepted millions of them.

He gave us a rare glimpse inside the San Francisco Airport mail facility where Customs and Border Protection Agents are scanning each shipment from overseas, seizing box after box of these illegal pills.

"When something comes from a foreign country, you just don't know what's going to be in it," he said.

They just found this box filled with "Best Slim" brand diet pills his agency says tested positive for sibutramine.

Although the box came from China, the label on the pill bottle says there are "Made in the U.S."

We wanted to see how hard it is to find these pills.       

A producer wired with a hidden camera and i followed a tip to a strip mall in San Jose asking for diet pills.

Producer:   "I've heard you carry some in these stores and they really work?  Do they?" 

Clerk:     "Yeah," while chuckling.

Producer:   "Really?"

On the shelves of several Asian gift shops, our undercover producer and i find the banned products.

Producer:   "Do the two day ones really work in two days?  

Clerk:   Mmhmm.

Producer:  Really?

Clerk:  Yes.     

At one store, we found the same exact "Best Slim" pills we saw federal agents seizing in San Francisco. 

Producer:  Are they safe?  

Clerk:   Yeah, it's safe.

$50 later, we bought a month's supply.

It didn't take long.  We walked into three stores, and within minutes we walked out with several bottles containing illegal diet pills

We return to the stores to find out why they're selling them.   The same clerk, who assured us they were safe, won't answer us. 

 Instead she starts speaking in another language to a co-worker who insists, they didn't know the pills were illegal.

"We'll contact whoever ordered this, and they can contact the company and notify them you came also." a clerk told us.

She assured me, she wouldn't sell anymore of the pills.

A woman at a second store who confirmed they work well also found someone else to speak with us.

He claimed his daughter owned the store, but wouldn't give us her number, but agreed to remove all the pills from their shelves.

 These same pills are a Google search away.

 I bought some online.

 Up until last month, low doses of sibutramine were available by prescription under the name Meridia.

 The FDA said the health risks were too high and asked doctors to stop prescribing it.

FDA Advisory: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm228746.htm

 Have you seen these pills in stores?  Do you think the government should've banned them?  Weigh in at Facebook.com/CallKurtis