The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA)
Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) seized hundreds of thousands of
doses of suspected illegally traded medicines, including powerful
prescription-only medicines, following coordinated raids at two
residential and two business premises across North Manchester.
The operation saw raids across two residential addresses in
Oldham and Cheetham in the early hours of Wednesday 29 November
2023 where a man in his 20s was arrested on suspicion of
conspiracy to supply controlled drugs, breaches of the Human
Medicines Regulations 2012 and money laundering.
Officers from the MHRA and Greater Manchester Police also seized
thousands of illegal medicines from two business addresses in
Bury and Miles Platting including powerful opioid painkillers and
antidepressants, as well as unlicensed versions of erectile
dysfunction drugs.
Andy Morling, MHRA Deputy Director of Criminal
Enforcement said:
Medicines like these are powerful and dangerous in the wrong
hands, potentially leading to serious adverse health
consequences. The criminals trading in these products are not
only breaking the law, they also have no regard for your safety.
It is illegal to advertise, sell or supply medicines such as
these without the appropriate authorisation. If you see these
products, or any other powerful medicines, being sold on social
media or elsewhere online, think. It’s unlikely to be legitimate,
and could be extremely dangerous. You can help the MHRA take
action to stop these criminals by reporting concerns to us
through our Yellow Card scheme.
Our Criminal Enforcement Unit will continue working to protect
your health by disrupting this harmful and illegal trade. We’re
grateful to our partners in Greater Manchester Police, for
helping in our efforts to do this today.”
Detective Chief Inspector Jen Kelly of Greater Manchester
Police’s Operation Vulcan said:
The MHRA has been a dedicated partner of Operation Vulcan in
helping to tackle the supply of illicit prescription medication
in the Cheetham Hill area of Manchester. This was a key problem
that Operation Vulcan has worked hard to tackle and over the last
year we have seized over 1.5 million tablets.
Today was therefore an opportunity to support our partners in
turn and tackle the illicit supply elsewhere. We see first-hand
the harmful and sadly even fatal consequences that illicit
prescription medication can have. I would urge anyone with
information about illicit supply to share it with your local
police force so they can act on it and keep your community safe.
Find out more MHRA safety advice
when buying medicines online
Be careful when buying medicines online.
Medicines and medical devices are not ordinary consumer goods and
their sale and supply is tightly controlled. Websites operating
outside the legal supply chain may seem tempting, for example,
offering a prescription medicine without a prescription. Not only
are these sites breaking the law – they’re putting your health at
risk.
Do not self-prescribe.
Self-diagnosis and self-medication can be very dangerous. If you
have a concern about your health, visit your GP, get a correct
diagnosis and if medicines are prescribed, obtain them from a
legitimate source.
Visit the #FakeMeds website for tools and resources to help
people purchase medication or medical devices safely online.
Follow us on Twitter: @MHRAgovuk
Follow us on LinkedIn: Medicines and Healthcare
products Regulatory Agency
Notes to editors
- A prescription-only medicine has to be prescribed by a doctor
or other authorised health professional and it has to be
dispensed from a pharmacy or from another specifically licensed
place. It is illegal to advertise prescription-only medicines to
the public.
- Controlled drugs are drugs named in the misuse of drugs
legislation, the most common of which are on the controlled drugs
list. The full lists can be found in both the Misuse of
Drugs Act 1971 and schedules 1 to 5 of the Misuse of
Drugs Regulations (MDR) 2001.
- The #FakeMeds campaign is a public health campaign which aims
to reduce the harm caused by purchasing fake, unlicensed or
counterfeit medical products online. The #FakeMeds campaign site
gives practical steps the public can take when purchasing medical
products safely online. This includes purchasing from recognised
sources and the product marks to look out for. Previous phases of
the campaign have focused on fake erectile dysfunction (ED)
medicines, dodgy diet pills and fake self-testing STI kits.
Further advice and top
tips to safe purchasing medicines and medical products
online.
- The MHRA Yellow
Card scheme helps the MHRA monitor the safety of all
healthcare products in the UK to ensure they are acceptably
safe for patients and those that use them. Members of the
public can report suspicious offers and any side effects
through the Yellow Card website.
- If a product is classified as a medicine and is not
appropriately licensed, we take action to ensure regulatory
compliance including the removal of the product from the UK
market where necessary. The specific action taken is determined
by consideration of all the available evidence and relevant legal
precedents.
- 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.
