Officers from the MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit, supported by Northamptonshire Police, dismantled an illegal laboratory in Northampton and seized unlicensed weight-loss medicines valued at £250,000. The regulator said the site was the first illicit production facility for weight-loss drugs discovered in the UK and described the operation as the largest single seizure of trafficked weight-loss medicines by a law enforcement agency worldwide. The raid also uncovered tens of thousands of empty weight-loss pens ready to be filled, raw chemical ingredients and more than 2,000 unlicensed pens for retatrutide and tirzepatide awaiting dispatch, along with sophisticated packaging and manufacturing equipment and £20,000 in cash.

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, described the seizure as a victory against criminals who risk lives by selling dangerous and illegal weight-loss jabs for profit. He said unregulated products pose a major safety risk and urged people not to buy them, advising patients to talk to their GP or seek NHS guidance and to obtain medicines only under medical supervision. He added, “These unregulated products, made with no regard for safety or quality, posed a major risk to unwitting customers.”

Andy Morling, head of the MHRA’s criminal enforcement unit, said the seizure shows the lengths criminals will go to for profit. He warned that prescription medicines should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional, and that medicines obtained by other means carry serious health risks, including potential contamination. He described the operation as a landmark result for the MHRA and a major blow to the illegal trade, adding that officers will continue to identify, disrupt and dismantle organised criminal networks who place profit before safety. “This seizure shows the lengths these criminals will go to for profit.” “Prescription medicines should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional.”