Thousands of illicit medicines seized in morning of raids in Manchester
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.
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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.
- The MHRA is an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care.
- For media enquiries, please contact the newscentre@mhra.gov.uk or call on 020 3080 7651.