Cuopom: Ozempic: Man arrested in 'skinny jab' ingredient raids

By Pria RaiBBC Newsbeat

BBC Kate Smith from the MHRA holds up a bag of evidence. She's a white woman with short blonde hair and wears a black parka over a grey hoodie. She's pictured outside a property with a skip outside

BBC

Government investigator Kate Smith says her team was looking for illegal medicines

A man has been arrested on suspicion of illegally selling "skinny jabs" online.

Police raided a house near Hull and seized vials thought to contain semaglutide - the active ingredient in "Hollywood weight loss drug" Ozempic.

A BBC Three investigation recently found it for sale without prescription on social media and in salons.

Police arrested the man in his 30s, from the Goole area in East Yorkshire, on suspicion of selling unlicensed medicines.

BBC Newsbeat was invited to accompany the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and Humberside Police on the raids.

They said the operation, at two addresses in Humberside, was the first to target black market semaglutide supply.

After a briefing to talk through the operation, the team split up and went to each address - Newsbeat was taken to a quiet cul-de-sac not too far away from Hull.

Once the man was taken into custody in a police van, officers searched the house for evidence.

It wasn't possible to accompany them inside the property, but, watching through a window, they could be seen taking photos.

The search wasn't just for semaglutide, but also any evidence that painted a picture of the suspect's life.

MHRA investigator Kate Smith told Newsbeat the team would be looking for anything that could suggest a "criminal lifestyle" funded by "selling these products illegally online".

A vial thought to contain semaglutide and syringe seized as part of the raid. Both items are in evidence bags

A man was arrested after suspected semaglutide was found by officers

The agency, which regulates new medicines in the UK, says it's launched a crackdown on black market sellers after demand skyrocketed for weight loss jabs and products including Botox and Melanotan.

Semaglutide-containing Ozempic is usually prescribed for diabetes and works by lowering blood sugar levels and slowing down food leaving the stomach.

For a doctor to give it to you for weight-loss, you have to have a BMI over 30 and a weight-related health condition.

Medics say taking it incorrectly can have serious side effects and there's a risk unregulated versions could be toxic.

Andy Morling, the MHRA's deputy director of criminal enforcement, says the market sale for the products is still new and fairly "small scale" but the agency is planning more raids.

He says they're also working to remove online ads and the agency believes the "powerful medicines" have the potential to cause harm.

"The very best that could happen to you is you lose your money in a scam," he says. "And the worst that could happen is you end up hospitalised."