An epidemic of online trading in illegal medicines has been revealed in the latest UK data.
The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says thwarted more than 1,500 websites and social media accounts in 2024 that were illegally trading medicines.
This, it says, prevented criminals from making £7.5m profits; while more than 17 million doses, worth over £40m, were taken out of circulation.
Of the 17 million doses seized, there were 5.5 million doses of erectile dysfunction medicines, 5.5 million doses of pain treatments, 2.8 million doses of sedatives and 1.6 million doses of sleep disorder treatments.
The MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit (CEU) can freeze bank accounts, intercept digital currencies, seize luxury goods and confiscate the proceeds of crime following conviction.
Head of the MHRA CEU, Andy Morling, says: “Criminals are in the illegal medicines trade for one reason only, to make money. By seizing their profits, we’re removing that single motivation.
“Whether held in Bitcoin or banknotes, we can take these criminal profits out of the hands of offenders. We can also use some of the money to strengthen our enforcement efforts against them. It’s a win for the safety of the public, and a serious blow for organised crime.”
Most of the seized medicines are not licensed for sale in the UK, so can contain too much or too little of the declared active ingredient and may also contain other ingredients that are not approved for use.
