New data from the Home Office’s border force this week (August 20) revealed that it has intercepted more than 18,000 illegal weight loss products since January 2024.
“Approximately 18,316 illegal or unregulated weight loss products were seized at UK borders between January 2024 and June 2025,” according to data obtained by Chemist4U via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
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“The data highlights large-scale smuggling, with criminals attempting to import hundreds of illicit weight loss products to supply a growing black market,” the online pharmacy said.
It also revealed that “Heathrow Airport security staff have intercepted criminals attempting to smuggle potentially counterfeit Mounjaro pens hidden on their bodies during searches”.
Items seized included slimming capsules and supplements, weight loss pens, Mounjaro, Wegovy and semaglutide, the data showed.
The number of items taken by the border force peaked in April last year, with 9,100 items seized in just one month.
Seizures then remained below 1,000 for the next few months before rising again in August to 4,375, the data showed.
Chemist4U told C+D the spike could be due to a combination of factors including increased seasonal demand or heightened border enforcement during the peak holiday season.
Read more: ‘DIY kits’: NI fake weight loss jab warning as patients hospitalised
This year, the number of seizures remained below 350 in the first four months of 2025 before rising drastically by 1,429% from 116 in April to 1,774 in May.
No data was available for the months of October and November last year.
Weight loss “black market”
Chemist4U warned that “unregulated online sellers, beauty retailers and social media platforms are increasingly being used to distribute counterfeit weight loss jabs” posing “serious health risks” and that the upcoming Mounjaro price hike could “drive patients to the black market”.
Its head of pharmacy Jason Murphy stressed that “counterfeit medicines are a growing problem and the surge in smuggled weight loss injections shows how criminals are exploiting rising demand”.
Read more: Chemist4U profits more than double as standards ‘not all met’
“Buying weight loss injections on the black market is like playing Russian roulette with your health,” he said, adding that “fake pens aren’t just illegal, they could be contaminated, expired or completely ineffective”.
It comes after Mounjaro manufacturer Eli Lilly last week revealed that it will increase the UK list price for its tirzepatide weight loss drug by up to 170% from September 1 to “address pricing inconsistencies compared to other developed countries”.
Read more: Revealed: Lilly creates ‘Mounjaro rebate scheme’ for pharmacies
The Independent Pharmacies Association (IPA) and grassroots pharmacists warned that “the higher prices will see patients [who are] desperate for cheaper products turn to the often-unregulated online market”.
But it was this week revealed that Lilly has invited pharmacies to participate in a “Mounjaro rebate scheme” once the weight loss drug’s prices increase next month.
Read more: Researchers develop new sensor to ‘detect counterfeit medicine’
Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DH) in Northern Ireland issued a warning to the public earlier this month not to “fall victim to criminals” selling fake weight loss medication following reports of patients being hospitalised.
And a “large-scale criminal network” of more than 5,000 “fraudulent” online pharmacies was exposed last month by a cybersecurity company for selling “counterfeit, contaminated or entirely fake medications”.
In June, Chemist4U’s latest financial statements revealed that it saw profits and sales revenue double last year despite its latest regulatory inspection finding that pharmacy standards were “not all met” – including around the prescribing of weight loss medicines.
