Organised crime gangs making fake 'branded' weight-loss drugs

Organised crime gangs have begun manufacturing their own branded weight-loss drugs, designed to look like legitimate medicines, in what authorities are warning is a significant threat.

- Sarah Marsh Consumer affairs correspondent

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said the trend, which had only just emerged, led to it conduct the largest single seizure of trafficked weight-loss drugs ever recorded by a global law enforcement agency.

Andy Morling, head of the MHRA's criminal enforcement unit, said that in the past few months a new model of production had been seen "where criminals are putting investment into designing their own packaging and branding ... and selling it purporting to be a genuine product".

He added: "That is an unusual model. [What was seized] looked like genuine medicines, but [they] are entirely unlicensed and illegal to sell in the UK. The most recent model, and the level of investment to do packaging and production facilities to sell on an industrial scale, that is undoubtedly organised crime. That is why we are working to eliminate that model before it takes a grip."