The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has seized more than 2,000 unlicensed weight-loss pens, plus raw chemical ingredients in what it says is “believed to be the largest single seizure of trafficked weight-loss medicines ever recorded by a law enforcement agency worldwide”.
The MHRA has confirmed to The Pharmaceutical Journal that the warehouse in Northampton was raided by officers from the agency’s criminal enforcement unit (CEU), supported by Northamptonshire Police, as part of an operation over the course of two days beginning on 22 October 2025.
Officers found “tens of thousands of empty weight-loss pens ready to be filled, raw chemical ingredients and more than 2,000 unlicensed retatrutide and tirzepatide pens awaiting dispatch to customers”, with the contents of the pens “still being analysed”, it said.
The MHRA explained that the street value of the finished weight-loss products alone is estimated to be more than one-quarter of a million pounds.
Officers also recovered “large amounts of sophisticated packaging and manufacturing equipment”, as well as £20,000 in cash that they suspect to be linked to medicines trafficking, according to the agency.
The site is the first illicit production facility for weight-loss medicine discovered in the UK.
Health secretary Wes Streeting commented: “These unregulated products, made with no regard for safety or quality, posed a major risk to unwitting customers.
“My message is clear: don’t buy weight-loss medications from unregulated sources. Talk to your GP, seek NHS advice and don’t line the pockets of criminals who don’t care about your health. Safe, appropriate, licensed obesity drugs can greatly benefit those in need if taken under medical supervision, and I urge people to only purchase and use them with the approval and oversight of medics and pharmacists.”
Andy Morling, head of the MHRA CEU, said: “This seizure shows the lengths these criminals will go to for profit. People should be extremely cautious when buying medicines online. Prescription medicines should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional. Taking prescription medicines sourced in any other way carries serious risks to your health — there are no guarantees about what they contain, and some may even be contaminated with toxic substances.
“This is an illicit global market that endangers patients, puts big money in the pockets of organised criminals and undermines legitimate healthcare. This operation demonstrates, once again, that my officers will stop at nothing to identify, disrupt and dismantle the organised criminal networks who put profit before safety.”
