12 arrested in MHRA’s biggest medicines trafficking crackdown

Twelve people have been arrested in a series of dawn raids across the West Midlands and the Northwest of England today (29 April), as part of the biggest criminal investigation ever undertaken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) into organised medicines trafficking.

The suspects were detained on suspicion of involvement in organised crime, conspiracy to sell or supply controlled and unlicensed medicines, and money laundering.

They are currently being held for questioning at police stations across the two regions.

The raids—carried out across Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, Merseyside, and the West Midlands—follow a lengthy intelligence-led investigation known as Operation Subaru, led by the MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit.

“Operation Subaru is the largest investigation we’ve ever undertaken and demonstrates the MHRA’s commitment to protecting the public by dismantling the organised international criminal networks that cause so much harm,” said Andy Morling, head of the MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit.

Around 150 officers were deployed in the operation, supported by West Midlands and North West Regional Organised Crime Units, the National Crime Agency, Staffordshire Police and Greater Manchester Police.

During searches of 22 residential and commercial properties, authorities seized hundreds of thousands of doses of illegally traded medicines, including opioid painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs.

They also recovered around £100,000 in cash, luxury watches, and suspected criminal assets held in cryptocurrency.

Restraint orders were secured on more than £3.5 million worth of assets suspected to be linked to criminal activity.

Morling warned the public about the dangers of buying medicines from unverified online sources, noting that “medicines should only be obtained from a registered pharmacy against a prescription issued by a healthcare professional.”

“Taking medicines sourced in any other way carries serious risks to your health – there are no guarantees about what they contain, and some may even be contaminated with toxic substances,” he said.

The MHRA is encouraging the public to visit its #FakeMeds website for guidance on buying medicines safely online.

This operation is the latest step in the MHRA’s crackdown on illegal medicines trafficking.

In 2024, the Agency’s Criminal Enforcement Unit and its partners in the Home Office’s Border Force have seized more than 17.5 million doses of illicit medicines, including painkillers, sleeping pills, and erectile dysfunction drugs—worth over £40 million on the black market.