Four members of an organised criminal group have been sentenced for illegally supplying millions of pounds’ worth of medicines online.
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said Everton Reynolds, Paul Billingham, Junior Ranger and Anita Rama were sentenced yesterday at Wolverhampton Crown Court to a combined 15 years in prison.
The sentences were the result of Operation Lamborghini, a major investigation by the MHRA’s Criminal Enforcement Unit, which disrupted the “multimillion-pound criminal network” in November.
Read more: Over £4m of illegal medicines seized in ‘intensive’ operation
The MHRA said the group were responsible for the online distribution and sale of controlled drugs, prescription-only medicines (POMs) and unauthorised medicinal products across the UK.
Investigators linked them to “almost two million doses of medicinal products”, including diazepam, clonazepam, lorazepam and codeine.
The court heard the defendants “prioritised profit over patient safety” and “exposed members of the public to potentially serious health risks”, the regulator added.
“Sophisticated and highly profitable”
MHRA chief safety officer Dr Alison Cave called the criminal operation “sophisticated and highly profitable”, adding that it showed “a complete disregard for patient safety”.
She said the MHRA “will continue to identify, disrupt and prosecute those involved in the illegal supply of medicines and will use every tool available to protect the public”.
Read more: ‘Crime boss’ behind £3.7m prescription drug racket jailed
It comes after the arrest of two people in June in the MHRA’s “largest ever” seizure of unlicensed weight loss drugs.
And it follows the conviction of seven people after an MHRA investigation revealed an illegal medicines and steroids network worth £1.8m.