Latest news with #counterfeitdrugs
BBC News
19 hours ago
- Health
- BBC News
Plymouth deaths show risks of lethal street drugs, charity says
The deaths of three men in Plymouth are a "stark reminder" of the dangers of illegal street drugs, charity workers have and Cornwall Police said the deaths of two men in their 30s and another in his 20s on 7 and 8 June were believed to be related to drugs. A man, 45, was arrested on suspicion of being concerned in the supply of drugs. He has since been bailed. A public health warning was issued by Plymouth City Council, and officials said all three were believed to be linked to blue pills being illegally sold as Howes, chief executive of Plymouth-based substance misuse charity Harbour, said the recent deaths showed how lethal counterfeit street drugs could be. Police said two of the men were found dead at an address in Welbeck Avenue on 7 June before a third man was found dead in a property on North Road East the following Monday, Det Insp Michelle Dunn said all three deaths were being treated as linked and unexplained. 'Unpredictable in strength' Prof Steve Maddern, Plymouth City Council's director of public health, said the blue pills - which had been sold in blister packs with Arabic writing on them - were being tested to discover if they were Howes said: "This heart-breaking loss is a stark reminder of the risks posed by street drugs, particularly counterfeit or illicitly manufactured tablets."These pills are often unpredictable in strength and content and can be lethal."At Harbour, we are committed to doing everything we can to reduce drug and alcohol related deaths and minimise harm in our communities." Ms Howes said the charity worked to engage with people affected by drug and alcohol use. Work carried out by Harbour included offering training on naloxone, which can temporarily reverse the effects of heroin and other opiates or opioids charity has also been part of a national campaign to eliminate Hepatitis C and has provided testing, access to treatment and harm reduction education. Ms Howes added anyone who used drugs or alcohol or was concerned about a loved one should reach out."Help is available and recovery is possible," Ms Howes said. 'Hidden harm' Police said officers and their public health and drug treatment partners were carrying out prevention and educational work.A spokesperson said the force had links with University of Bath to analyse samples, which could help warn about potential contaminated substances, including the incident involving the blue pills linked to the recent deaths."This appears to have been effective, with no further incidents reported at this time," the spokesperson work done by police included 400 naloxone kits being added to emergency first aid kits in police said anyone who noticed drug-related activity should report it to officers or Crimestoppers."There is a significant amount of hidden harm associated with the supply and use of drugs and illegal substances and as such it is crucial that those in our communities report information to us," a spokesperson said."It is those puzzle pieces that help us build up the bigger picture and take appropriate action." 'No single solution' Prof Maddern said reducing drug-related harm and deaths was a "long-standing priority" for the said following the three deaths, the council and its partners had expanded the distribution of added support services had expanded in Plymouth since 2022 due to increased government funding, but there was still plenty of work to do."We recognise that there is no single solution to this challenge," Prof Maddern said."Reducing drug-related deaths requires a sustained response and effective interventions."
Daily Mail
08-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE The fake fat jab kits cooked up by criminal gangs: How to tell if your weight loss drugs are counterfeit as police launch crackdown on rise in illicit medication
Hundreds of dangerous 'DIY' weight-loss injection kits were stopped from entering the UK last year - amid a broader crackdown on organised gangs trafficking unlicensed medicines. The popularity of celebrity-endorsed treatments like Ozempic has seen demand outstrip supply, giving criminal groups an opportunity to release their own counterfeit versions supposedly containing the active ingredient, semaglutide. These are often wrongly labelled and potentially deadly, with at least one woman known to have fallen seriously ill after injecting herself with chemicals from a kit she bought on social media. Officials insist that the only way to guarantee a medicine is genuine is to buy it from a registered pharmacy against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional. Andy Morling, head of the MHRA's Criminal Enforcement Unit, told MailOnline: 'If you buy medicines from unverified sources there is no guarantee the product is safe or effective, and it may even be contaminated with toxic substances.' Mr Morling insisted that counterfeit drugs remained rare in the UK, with the vast majority of seizures made by his team consisting of controlled drugs or unlicensed generic medicines. However, there remains a market for fake weight loss medication. 'Ozempic has been counterfeited in relatively modest numbers since 2023, when we seized 869 Ozempic-branded pens. Some contained insulin, which was concerning, because non-clinical use can be fatal,' he said. 'We broke the back of that model but we are now seeing criminals selling ''DIY kits'' that include the active ingredient in powdered form alongside syringes so customers can inject themselves. Andy Morling, head of the MHRA's Criminal Enforcement Unit, says he continues to see counterfeit drugs online, but the majority of seizures made by his team consisting of controlled drugs or unlicensed generic medicines. Pictured are luxury watches recovered during raids last week on a gang suspected of organised medicines trafficking 'We've seized 327 vials containing powder sold as semaglutide, four pre-filled syringes and one pen, taking the total number of weight loss products intercepted so far to 1201. 'That's a small number in the context of the 17.5million doses of unlicensed medicines that we seized last year. But it's problematic as they are particularly high risk - there's no way of knowing what's in the vials.' Counterfeit medicines that end up in the UK are usually sold via social media. One Instagram user, Maddy, revealed last year how she had ended up in A&E vomiting blood after injecting herself with semaglutide from a DIY kit she bought for £200 from influencer Jordan Parke, who calls himself The Lip King. Mr Morling said he continues to see a 'very small number' of counterfeit medicines being sold online, but far more significant was the trafficking of controlled drugs - like anti-anxiety tablets and sleeping pills - and unlicensed versions of generic erectile dysfunction treatments. He spoke a week after his unit arrested 12 suspects in dawn raids on 22 homes and premises in the West Midlands and North West as part of the largest crackdown on organised medicines trafficking in the MHRA's history. Officers confiscated hundreds of thousands of doses of medicine, including controlled drugs such as opioid painkillers and anti-anxiety tables, alongside £100,000 in cash, luxury watches and cryptocurrency. Mr Morling said most medicines sold illegally in the UK come from countries in South Asia such as India, which has a large pharmaceutical industry that manufactures a large volume of generic tablets. Brian Pitts and Katie Harlow coordinated the production and sale of counterfeit tablets from a luxury villa in Thailand One of the 600 fake Ozempic pens seized across the UK in 2023 How to avoid buying fake or unlicensed medicines Officials say the only way to guarantee you receive a genuine weight-loss medicine is to obtain it from a legitimate pharmacy, including those trading online, against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional. If you're offered a weight-loss medicine in any other circumstances, whether online or offline, they are putting your health at serious risk and breaking the law. For online pharmacies based in Great Britain you can check on the General Pharmaceutical Council's (GPhC) website that it is properly registered. Common tell tale signs that a website may be dodgy include - Unusual web address – legitimate retailers will not use a product name in the URL Poor website design with spelling or grammatical errors Pop-up ads Exaggerated claims like '100% safe', 'no side effects' or 'quick results' Promise of quick 'next day' delivery. Taking shortcuts could expose you to unlicensed medicines, identity theft and credit card fraud. Advertising prescription-only medicines and prices on the 'home page' (illegal in the UK) No prescription required for prescription medicines Payment accepted in crypto currencies You are asked not to name the medicine or website in your banking transaction reference No physical or street address available The model he described resembles that used by legitimate retailers, such as Amazon. He said customers were attracted to unlicensed medicines for a variety of reasons, including price and convenience, while in many cases they would not even realise they were buying from an illegal outlet. 'Organised groups working across continents traffic these medicines into the UK in a variety of ways, including fast parcels, while others come through in larger air freight consignments,' he said. 'We find criminals nowadays tend to be using the fulfillment model that other retailers use, so medicines are stored in the UK once they make it through controls before being distributed to the end customer through the domestic post. 'The main vehicle for selling these medicines are websites that give the appearance of being genuine pharmacies - so consumers often won't realise they are buying from an illegal source.' He insisted even medicines produced legitimately abroad still posed a risk to people in the UK. 'The majority of these medicines are unlicensed for sale in the UK so they've not been subject to the high regulatory standards we set and there are no guarantees over their safety of efficacy or composition,' he said. Other types of unlicensed medicines intercepted by Border Force and the MHRA include tranquilisers, sedatives and hair loss medication. Products seized in the UK last year had a street value of £40million. Criminals are attracted to the trade by the huge profit margins on offer, with pills costing a gang 1p to buy abroad could sell in the UK for £1 or £2.50. The profits may then be invested in other illegal enterprises ranging from drug dealing to sex trafficking. 'Organised criminals don't tend to discriminate, they tend to go where the money is good and the trade is quite substantial, and the profits from medicines trafficking are arguably greater than conventional narcotics,' Mr Morling said. 'They also perceive the penalties and chance of being apprehended is less than conventional narcotics trafficking. 'But they are wrong on all counts because the sentences available for substances that are also controlled drugs are similar to narcotics, and we are getting good at seizing these shipments. 'We also trace and seize and confiscate the proceeds of this criminality. Last year, we denied criminals access to £7.5million and we'll be putting evidence before the courts to have it permanently removed so we can reinvest some of it in continuing this work.' The global nature of medicines trafficking was revealed by the recent prosecution of a British gang with supply lines stretching to Thailand and China. Brian Pitts – known online as Milkman - his partner Katie Harlow and father-in-law Lee Lloyd coordinating the production and sale of counterfeit tablets online from their HQ in a luxury villa in Thailand. The wider group, most of whom were from the same extended family, manufactured the tablets in makeshift pill production factories in garages and garden sheds in the UK, using industrial pill presses and active ingredients imported from China. Injections like Ozempic and Wegovy are designed to help type 2 diabetes patients control their blood sugar levels or for obese people to lose weight for health purposes They sold to customers on the Dark Web, primarily the market in the USA, using Bitcoin to receive payment. The group sold around £4million worth of pills in total, including tablets of anti-anxiety medication Xanax. Eleven people were convicted of offences including conspiracy to supply a controlled drug and received jail terms of up to eight years.
