In a landmark operation, more than 2,000 counterfeit weight loss injections have been confiscated from an illicit factory in Northampton, in what is believed to be the largest seizure of its kind in the world.
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), in a joint operation with police, dismantled the facility which was manufacturing and distributing unlicensed and potentially dangerous products.
The counterfeit pens were labelled as containing tirzepatide, the active ingredient found in the legitimate diabetes and weight loss medication, Mounjaro. However, the pharmaceutical company Eli Lilly, which manufactures Mounjaro, issued a stark warning, stating that anyone purchasing these black-market jabs would have “no way of knowing what they actually contain.”
This marks the first seizure of its kind in the UK. Alongside the finished fake products, authorities also recovered raw chemicals, manufacturing equipment, tens of thousands of empty pens, and £20,000 in cash from the site. The street value of the confiscated jabs is estimated to be around £250,000.
“A Victory in the Fight” Against Shameless Criminals
Health Secretary Wes Streeting hailed the operation as a significant success. “This is a victory in the fight against the shameless criminals who are putting lives at risk by peddling dangerous and illegal weight loss jabs to make a quick buck,” he said.
Mr Streeting emphasised the severe risks posed by the unregulated products, which were made with “no regard for safety or quality.” He urged the public to avoid buying weight loss medication from unregulated sources, warning that doing so “lines the pockets of criminals who don’t care about your health.”
“Untested, Unauthorised and Potentially Deadly”
Andy Morling, the head of the MHRA’s criminal enforcement unit, described the seizure as a “landmark result and a major blow to the illegal trade.”
“These products are untested, unauthorised and potentially deadly,” Morling stated. “By taking this organised criminal network out of operation – and stopping tens of thousands of products from entering circulation – we’ve prevented a serious risk to public health.”
Despite the successful raid, Pharmacy Magazine reports that no arrests have been made in connection with the seizure so far.
The high demand for weight-loss jabs, which can cost hundreds of pounds per month for a private prescription and are only available on the NHS to patients meeting strict criteria, is believed to have created a lucrative market for criminal organisations seeking to exploit desperate consumers.
