Organized Crime Gangs Flood UK with Counterfeit Weight-Loss Drugs

In a concerning development, organized crime gangs have begun manufacturing their own branded weight-loss drugs, designed to mimic legitimate medicines. According to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), this new model of production has emerged in the last few months, leading to the largest single seizure of trafficked weight-loss drugs ever recorded by any global law enforcement agency.

The MHRA's head of criminal enforcement, Andy Morling, explains that criminals are now investing heavily in designing their own packaging and branding to sell these unlicensed and illegal products, purporting them to be genuine. This sophisticated approach is a significant concern, as it gives customers a false sense of security, thinking they are buying legitimate medicines.

The MHRA's recent raid on an illegal weight-loss drug factory in Northampton seized tens of thousands of empty pens, raw chemical ingredients, and over 2,000 unlicensed weight-loss pens ready to be sent to customers. Morling warns that this new model of production, with its level of investment and sophistication, is the work of global organized crime, and the agency is working to eliminate this threat before it takes hold.