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The UK’s drug regulator has announced the largest single seizure smuggling weight loss The drugs have so far been recorded globally after a factory producing thousands of unlicensed jabs collapsed.
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) confirmed on Friday that it had seized 2,000 pens that were incorrectly labeled as containing tirazepide and retatrutide – medicines not approved for weight loss in the UK.
Thousands of empty pens and raw chemicals were also exposed in the operation. The MHRA said the factory, on an industrial estate on the outskirts of Nottingham, was the first of its kind discovered in the UK.
During the search, MHRA officers, supported by Northamptonshire Police, seized thousands of empty weight loss pens ready to be filled, raw chemical ingredients and more than 2,000 unlicensed retreptide and tirazeptide pens waiting to be shipped to customers.
The street value of finished weight loss products alone is estimated to be over a quarter of a million pounds.
Along with a large amount of sophisticated packaging and manufacturing equipment, officers also seized approximately £20,000 in cash suspected to be linked to drug trafficking.
The two-day search operation is the latest in the MHRA’s ongoing work to tackle the illicit trade in weight loss drugs.
The site is believed to have been used for the large-scale manufacturing, packaging and distribution of unlicensed – and potentially lethal – weight loss products to customers.
Secretary of State For health and social care, Wes StreetingSaid: “This is a victory in the fight against shameless criminals Who are putting people’s lives at risk by selling dangerous and illegal weight loss drugs to make quick money. These unregulated products, made without regard to safety or quality, pose a major threat to unknowing consumers.
“My message is clear: don’t buy weight loss drugs from unregulated sources. Talk to your GP, take NHS advice, and don’t line the pockets of criminals who don’t care about your health.
“Safe, appropriate, licensed obesity medicines can be of great benefit to people in need if taken under medical supervision, and I urge people to buy and use them only with the approval and supervision of doctors and pharmacists.”
Andy Morling, head of the MHRA’s criminal enforcement unit, said: “This seizure shows the lengths to which these criminals will go to profit. People should be extremely cautious when purchasing medicines online. Prescription medicines should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy on the basis of a prescription issued by a healthcare professional.
“Taking prescription medications taken in any other way poses a serious risk to your health – there is no guarantee of what is in them, and some may even be contaminated with toxins.
“The takedown of the first illegal weight loss drug manufacturing facility found in the UK is a historic result for the MHRA and a major blow to the illicit trade. These products are untested, unauthorized and potentially deadly.
“By taking this organized criminal network out of operation and preventing thousands of potentially deadly products from entering circulation, we have prevented a serious risk to public health.
“This is an illicit global market that endangers patients, puts big money in the pockets of organized criminals, and undermines legitimate health care. This operation demonstrates once again that my officers will leave no stone unturned in identifying, disrupting, and dismantling organized criminal networks that put profit before safety.”