The Criminal Enforcement Unit of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have arrested two people after raiding a country estate near Northampton, and seized around 12,000 doses of unlicensed weight loss medicines.
The operation was carried out late on 28 May and two male suspects, both aged 29, were arrested on suspicion of offences under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
This is the largest-ever seizure of such products by the agency, and further investigations are ongoing.
The property is believed to have been used as a large-scale facility to manufacture, assemble, and distribute unlicensed weight loss medicines, including retatrutide and tirzepatide, as well as peptide products.
The MHRA officers, with the support of Northamptonshire Police, seized substantial quantities of packaging materials and pharmaceutical substances allegedly used in the illicit manufacture of the products.
This operation is the latest in a series of successful enforcement actions by the MHRA targeting the illegal supply of weight loss medicines.
Over recent months, the agency’s enforcement unit has carried out several raids, dismantling criminal networks, and removing significant quantities of unlicensed and potentially dangerous products from circulation.
Andy Morling, head of the MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit, said, "Last night’s hugely successful operation demonstrates, once again, the MHRA’s unwavering commitment to ensuring there is no hiding place for those who cynically put the public’s health at risk for profit."
