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The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency's (MHRA) Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) has seized a quantity of suspected unlicensed medical products including unlicensed versions of Botox, numbing agents and dermal fillers in Bolton, Greater Manchester. Officers from the MHRA and Greater Manchester Police conducted a raid across nine addresses in Bolton, Westhoughton and Leigh in the early hours of Thursday 13 July 2023, where two women and a man were arrested. 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. You can help the MHRA take action by reporting concerns to us through our Yellow Card scheme.

A couple in Maidenhead, Berkshire has been handed suspended sentence for illegal possession and supply of £1.6m of unlicensed medicines. Following investigations initiated by the MHRA, Karina Filimonova and Andrejs Stolarovs were caught with the unlicensed medicines which included prescription-only medications. Southwark Crown Court sentenced each "to eight months imprisonment suspended for 18 months and 150 hours unpaid work" for possessing and intending to supply medicinal products contrary to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012. "This was a sophisticated operation illegally bringing unlicensed medicines into the UK from Singapore and India, and then distributing them across the country and abroad," said Andy Morling, MHRA Deputy Director of Criminal Enforcement. "Criminals trading in medicines illegally like this are not only breaking the law, but they also have no regard for your safety. These are powerful medicines that can lead to serious adverse health consequences if taken without appropriate medical supervision." In 2020, the Royal Mail Group (RMG) informed the MHRA about parcels containing unlicensed medicines discovered during their investigation into suspicious parcel activity. Following this, the MHRA's Criminal Enforcement Unit, in cooperation with local police, launched an investigation and apprehended the couple at their residence in Kidwells Close, Maidenhead.

The Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency has initiated a recall of three batches of Quantum Pharmaceutical's Diltiazem HCl 2% Cream, which is an unlicensed medicine. MHRA issued a precautionary recall of the cream due to a change in the product's appearance that affected its thickness. Pharmacists are instructed to halt supply, quarantine remaining stock, and contact Quantum Pharmaceutical to return affected batches M1402497, M1402574, and M1402680. Patients using this product may encounter application issues with the cream due to its consistency. However, MHRA said that this has not impacted the product's effectiveness or posed any risk to patient safety. The MHRA also reported that medac GmbH (t/a medac Pharma LLP) is conducting a recall of two batches of Sodiofolin 50 mg/ml solution for injection/infusion (400mg/8ml vial) with batch numbers G220393B and G220393C. This class 2 medicines recall is a result of particles detected during long-term stability tests.

The Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) seized a large quantity of suspected illegally traded medicines, including powerful prescription-only medicines, during raids conducted at two residential and two business premises across North Manchester. Officers from the MHRA and Greater Manchester Police carried out searches across two residential addresses in Oldham and Cheetham in the early hours of Wednesday (29 November), and arrested a man in his 20s on "suspicion of conspiracy to supply controlled drugs, breaches of the Human Medicines Regulations 2012 and money laundering." They 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.

The Manchester Crown Court on Friday (9 December) sentenced three men, Cleave Lewis (35) and brothers, Denis Sutherland (58) and David Sutherland (59), to a total of three years in jail after they pleaded guilty to the illegal sale and supply online of prescription-only medicines and controlled Class B and Class C drugs, worth more than £1.5m. They were found in possession of nearly 1.3m tablets of prescription-only drugs, including powerful sleeping pills, painkillers and anti-anxiety meds, when officers from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Greater Manchester Police searched their residential homes and business premises in October 2017. Following investigations by the agency, they also pleaded guilty to illegally making these medicines available online on three different websites for the public to purchase without prescriptions. The officials also recovered controlled medicines, over half a million (525,737) erectile dysfunction, slimming and herbal tablets, with an estimated value of approximately £500k, from them.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued a company-led drug recall for Sodium Chloride Eye Drops 5% 1x10ml (unlicensed medicine) Stockport Pharmaceuticals. Stockport Pharmaceuticals said that the above batch of Sodium Chloride Eye Drops 5% w/v as the sterile eye droppers supplied with the medicinal product have expired (Jan 2022). The authority said, "This recall is being issued as a company-led medicines recall, as this product is only supplied to a small number of customers, and the manufacturer has full traceability of the product's distribution." "Remaining stock of the above batch should be quarantined and returned to Stockport Pharmaceuticals directly."