The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA),
working with law enforcement partners, seized almost
20 million doses of illegally traded medicines, with
a potential street value of nearly
£45 million, during 2025.
As part of a crackdown on criminal profits, the MHRA's
financial investigators also denied criminals access to
more than £2.1 million in assets linked to the illegal trade in
medicines.
Last year's seizures included almost ten million doses
of sedatives and sleeping pills, over four million doses
of powerful painkillers, and more than four million
doses of erectile dysfunction treatments. The MHRA's
Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) also seized more than
5,000 illegally traded GLP-1 products, commonly
marketed as ‘weight loss' medicines. The unit's
work included dismantling a major illicit manufacturing
facility, making and distributing unlicensed
weight-loss jabs, during a raid on a warehouse in Northampton in
October.
The CEU also worked with internet service providers
to disrupt more than 1,500 websites and social media
accounts illegally selling medical products to the
public and removed more than 1,200 social media
posts during the year.
The MHRA has been working closely with online industry
partners to block the illegal sale and
supply of medicines in the UK. In
2025, a cutting-edge AI algorithm developed
with eBay, successfully identified and blocked
more than two million violations of the company's policies
on prescription only and non-compliant over the counter
(OTC) medicines, before the products could be
offered for sale to the public.
Andy Morling, MHRA Deputy Director, Enforcement,
said:
This year, working closely with our law enforcement
partners, we have removed more illegally
traded medicines from circulation than ever before
– nearly 20 million doses in total, up from 17
million in 2024. Each and every one of
those products was potentially
dangerous to the public.”
Criminals see this trade as easy money,
but our relentless efforts are making it
increasingly difficult for them to operate. Our
focus last year, as always, has been firmly on
stopping these dangerous products reaching the
public in the first place.”
I would urge everyone to think very carefully before
buying powerful medicines online.
If something looks or feels wrong,
it probably is. Products sold illegally
online may contain harmful substances
or the incorrect dosage, and either of
these could seriously damage your health. Always use a
registered pharmacy – your safety is not worth the risk.
The dangers
of unauthorised medicines
If a medicine is unauthorised, it will not have been
assessed by the MHRA for its safety, effectiveness or the
quality and hygiene of its manufacturing and
distribution processes. Anyone buying such a product cannot be
sure what it contains or whether it will cause them
harm.
Most of the seized medicines are not authorised for
sale in the UK, so can contain too much or too little
of the declared active ingredient and may
also contain other harmful ingredients.
Notes to editors
-
The 20 million doses seized
include 9.9 million doses of sedatives, 4.4 million
doses of erectile dysfunction medicines, 4.1 million
doses of painkillers, 427,300 doses of nervous system agents,
and 5,680 GLP-1 pens.
