'Dangerous' weight-loss drugs seized during raids

Illegal and dangerous weight-loss drugs have been seized from a farm and property in Lincolnshire, police said.

Lincolnshire Police found almost 2,000 doses of the drugs at an agricultural building in Newton and a residential property in Grantham during raids on Tuesday.

Police said the operation was in response to reports of people "becoming unwell" who had taken the unregulated drugs or found them ineffective. They were believed to have been marketed online.

Health minister Dr Zubir Ahmed said: "We will not allow criminals to profit by exploiting people looking for help with their weight. These medicines are made with no regard for safety and pose serious risks."

Officers from the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) supported Lincolnshire Police, Immigration Enforcement and Lincolnshire Trading Standards during the operation.

The MHRA said officers also seized manufacturing equipment, suspected pharmaceutical ingredients, packaging and commercial vehicles.

Both premises were believed to have been used for the creation and distribution of "unlicensed weight-loss medicines", MHRA said.

This includes retatrutide and tirzepatide, as well as peptide products.

No arrests have been made, Lincolnshire Police said.

It comes after the first illicit production facility for weight-loss medicine found in Northampton was dismantled in October 2025.

Andy Morling, head of the MHRA's criminal enforcement unit, said: "The message to those illegally trading in medicines could not be clearer: we are coming for you."

Det Insp Samuel Ward, of Lincolnshire Police's intelligence development unit, said: "Criminal groups exploiting vulnerable people for profit have no place in our communities.

"We will continue to work relentlessly with our partners to dismantle these operations and keep the public safe."

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