Nearly £6,000 worth of Viagra stolen from Ministry of Defence

Figures released by the MoD show the alleged thefts total more than £7 million since 2007.The stolen items include £5,800 worth of anti-impotence Viagra pills, also used for conditions including blood pressure, and equipment from nuclear submarines from RAF Marham in Norfolk, The Times has reported.The figures were published by the MoD in response to a written parliamentary question from Tory MP Nick de Bois.In the past year 100 bayonets, thousands of rounds of live and blank ammunition, a Bedford truck and an industrial washing machine have all been poached from MoD sites.Metal thieves have also stolen lead flashing and roofing, copper piping, electrical cables and radiators, as well as £25,000 silver statue from the Household Cavalry barracks in Knightsbridge and £7,000 worth of silver cutlery from Redford Cavalry and Infantry Barracks near Edinburgh.From 2009 to 2010 nearly £2.5 million worth of equipment was stolen compared to £816,906 in 2012-2013.Since April 2013, £572,549 of MoD property is believed to have been lost to thieves.Defence minister Dr Andrew Murrison said: "The Ministry of Defence takes detecting and deterring fraud and theft seriously and set up a new counter fraud and loss department last year to improve the way fraud and theft is managed across defence, the aim being to minimise the losses from the defence budget from fraud, misappropriation and theft and thereby maximise the amount spent on our armed forces."The focus of this new department's work is to secure reduced losses caused by fraud, theft and loss, increased recovery through civil and internal procedures and the improved protection of assets through increased target hardening."(independent.co.uk)ANN.Az