West Midlands man sentenced to five years in prison for the illegal possession and intent to supply prescription medicines worth £2m
Kieron Banks (34) was sentenced today at the Nightingale Court in Wolverhampton for the illegal possession and intent to supply prescription-only medication valued at over £2m following investigations by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
During 2015, the MHRA was made aware that a website was selling prescription-only medicines illegally – this website was found to be associated with Banks.
The MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit investigated the website and, supported by the West Midlands Police, arrested Banks at his home in 2016, where he was found to be in possession of over 23,000 sleeping pills, including zopiclone, zolpidem and zolpidem tartrate.
During the arrest various digital devices and financial documents were seized which showed that bank accounts belonging to Banks had received more than £2m from the sale of these medications.
Following the MHRA’s investigation, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) brought charges against Banks, who was found guilty on 27 January 2023 following a trial at the Nightingale Court in Wolverhampton.
Andy Morling, MHRA Deputy Director of Criminal Enforcement, said:
Criminals trading in medicines illegally are not only breaking the law, but they also have no regard for your safety. Taking powerful medicines such as these can lead to serious adverse health consequences. You should never take prescription-only medicines without appropriate medical supervision.
We work hard to prevent, detect and investigate illegal activity involving medicines and medical devices to protect the public and defeat this harmful trade.
Our Criminal Enforcement Unit will continue working to protect your health by disrupting this harmful trade and bringing dangerous offenders to justice.
Ben Reid, CPS Special Prosecutor, said:
Banks was willing to sell controlled drugs to anyone who was willing to pay the right price, without having the professional qualifications to do so. He knew they were potentially addictive and could have harmful side effects, yet that did not stop him.
He sold large amounts of drugs, for significant amounts of money. Over a million pounds went through his bank accounts and he boasted to others about huge profit margins.
We will be pursuing the ill-gotten gains in this case through the Proceeds of Crime Act.
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 are 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.
Notes to Editors
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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.
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Banks was also sentenced with co-defendant, Anita Rama, who was sentenced to 12 months suspended for 18 months, 60 hours unpaid work and 15 hours of rehabilitation activities on separate charges for the illegal supply and sale of prescription medication valued at £184,000, including diazepam for anxiety, zopiclone sleeping pills and erectile dysfunction meds sildenafil, tadalafil and dapoxetine.
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The sleeping pill products seized were Actavis zopiclone, Mylan zolpidem, and Teva zolpidem tartrate medicines.
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During the raid, packaging was found that originated from a pharmacy manager, David Ihenagwa, who was sentenced to six years in prison at Croydon Crown Court. For more information see the press release here: Son of pharmacy owner sentenced for dealing wholesale medicines - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
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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.