Operation Lamborghini is the latest success from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s criminal enforcement unit.
Three individuals have been convicted for their roles in an organised criminal group responsible for the large-scale unlawful supply of unauthorised medicinal products online, one individual was found not guilty. A fifth pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.
The investigation, led by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) criminal enforcement unit and known as Operation Lamborghini, uncovered an organised criminal network operating a series of websites to illegally supply unlicensed medicines – including those controlled as Class B and Class C drugs.
It is part of the clampdown by the MHRA on illegal weight-loss medicines.
In early November, officers dismantled a major illicit manufacturing facility, making and distributing unlicensed weight-loss jabs, during a raid on a warehouse in Northampton.
The previous month, the MHRA, in partnership with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) and General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), jointly released an updated enforcement notice to reiterate the rules around the advertising of prescription-only medicines used for weight management.
This follows a joint enforcement notice, which was issued towards the end of April, making clear that adverts for named prescription-only medicines for weight management are prohibited, and in August, with a letter from Roz Gittins, the chief pharmacy officer at the GPhC, to pharmacists, which raised concerns about a number of patient safety risks.
A clear message
During Operation Lamborghini, Everton Reynolds, Paul Billingham, and Junior Ranger were convicted by a jury of conspiracy to supply controlled drugs (Class B and C), and conspiracies to supply unauthorised medicines, prescription-only medicines, following a six-week trial at Wolverhampton Crown Court. Anita Rama had pleaded guilty to all the charges at an earlier hearing.
The investigation identified almost two million doses of medicinal controlled drugs and other medicines linked to the criminal group. These included benzodiazepines (such as Diazepam, Clonazepam, Lorazepam and Alprazolam), Zolpidem, Zopiclone and the Class B drug Codeine, alongside unauthorised versions of medicines including Sildenafil. Prescription-only medicines Zapain and Modafinil were also supplied unlawfully.
“This conviction sends a clear message that the trafficking of medicines is a serious criminal offence that will be met with a robust and coordinated response by the MHRA,” said Andy Morling, head of the criminal enforcement unit at the MHRA. “The individuals involved showed a blatant disregard for public safety, placing people at real risk for their own financial gain,” he continued.
