Officers from the Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) of the
Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA)
have raided two separate premises in
Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire as part of an ongoing
investigation into an organised criminal network involved in the
manufacture and sale of unlicensed weight
loss medicines.
During the operation, MHRA officers, supported by Lincolnshire
Police, Immigration Enforcement and Lincolnshire Trading
Standards, seized almost 2,000 doses of unauthorised weight loss
medicines awaiting dispatch to customers, alongside manufacturing
equipment, suspected pharmaceutical ingredients, packaging, and
commercial vehicles.
The two premises searched, a farm near
Sleaford and a residential address in
Grantham, are believed to have been used
for the manufacture and distribution of unlicensed
weight loss medicines, including retatrutide and
tirzepatide, as well as peptide products.
The operation follows a landmark raid in October
2025, in which CEU officers dismantled the UK's
first illicit weight loss medicine manufacturing facility in
Northampton, believed to be the largest single seizure of
trafficked weight loss medicines ever recorded by a law
enforcement agency worldwide.
Dr , Health Innovation and Patient
Safety Minister, said:
“This week's raids have taken dangerous, unregulated products off
our streets. These medicines are made with no regard for safety
and pose serious risks. We will not allow criminals to profit by
exploiting people looking for help with their weight.
“Do not buy weight-loss medicines from unregulated sources. Safe,
effective, licensed treatments can make a real difference for
those who need them - but they must come from a registered
pharmacy, with a valid prescription.
“We are also investing £25 million in better weight loss support
programmes and referrals to weight loss jabs from GPs - where
clinically appropriate - as part of our shift from sickness to
prevention.”
Andy Morling, Head of the MHRA's Criminal Enforcement
Unit, said:
“The message from today to those illegally
trading in medicines could not be clearer: we are coming for
you. Our raid in October was just the start. Every illegal
product and every piece of manufacturing
equipment we seize disrupts these criminal
networks and brings us closer to dismantling them
entirely. We will stop at nothing to protect the public
and hold criminals to account for the harm they are
knowingly doing.
“I'm grateful to our partners in Lincolnshire Police, Immigration
Enforcement and Lincolnshire Trading Standards for their support
to today's operation.
DI Samuel Ward, of Lincolnshire Police's Intelligence
Development Unit said:
“This operation demonstrates the power of intelligence and
multiagency work. Lincolnshire Police was proud to play its part
in supporting the MHRA, alongside our partners at Trading
Standards and Immigration Enforcement, to identify, plan, and
execute a warrant has caused a serious disruption to a group
profiting from unregulated weight loss drugs.
“The production and sale of counterfeit weight‑loss drugs is
incredibly dangerous. These substances are unregulated and pose a
real risk to anyone who uses them. Criminal groups exploiting
vulnerable people for profit have no place in our communities,
and we will continue to work relentlessly with our partners to
dismantle these operations and keep the public safe.”
The MHRA's #FakeMeds
website offers helpful guidance and advice for staying
safe when buying medicines online.
Anyone who suspects they are having a side effect from a medicine
is encouraged to talk to their doctor, pharmacist or nurse and
report it directly to the MHRA Yellow Card
scheme.
Notes to editors
- The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
(MHRA) is responsible for regulating all medicines and medical
devices in the UK by ensuring they work and are acceptably safe.
All our work is underpinned by robust and fact-based judgements
to ensure that the benefits justify any risks.
- The Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) is the MHRA's in-house
law enforcement function, leading the Agency's response to
medicines crime. Its strategic mission is to protect the
public, maintain confidence in regulation and uphold the rule of
law by preventing offending where it can, disrupting offending
where it cannot, and bringing offenders to justice where it
should. It uses the full range of its powers and capabilities,
including intelligence analysis, online disruption,
covert techniques, and asset recovery to tackle criminal threats
to the UK public, working closely with the police and law
enforcement agencies in the UK and overseas.
- The MHRA's Accredited Financial Investigators are authorised
by the National Crime Agency under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
(POCA). They support investigations by tracing, freezing, and
confiscating assets linked to crime, including money laundering
and the illegal supply of medicines. Their work includes seizing
cash, valuable items, and freezing bank accounts or
cryptocurrency suspected of criminal origins. The Home Office's
Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme (ARIS) allows a proportion
of the proceeds of crime recovered under POCA, to be
redistributed to agencies involved in the asset recovery
process.
