# MHRA's Birmingham fake-pen seizure

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Research news · 8 November 2026 · 2 min read · By [European Peptide Shop](https://europeanpeptideshop.com/about/)

### On this page

The MHRA Birmingham raid on 14 October 2026 seized over 12,000 fake retatrutide and tirzepatide pens. The MHRA puts their street value at approximately £2 million.

## What did the MHRA Birmingham raid find?

West Midlands Police joined the operation at what the MHRA called "a filthy warehouse on an industrial estate". Officers also took packaging for around 30,000 more products. Tim Duffield of the MHRA's Criminal Enforcement Unit said: "We are tackling the organised criminal gangs whose illegal trade in unauthorised medicines puts people at risk of serious harm."

## Was anyone arrested in the MHRA Birmingham raid?

Neither the MHRA release nor the trade reports mention an arrest from this raid. Chemist+Druggist says a May raid on a country estate seized around 12,000 doses and led to two arrests.

## What can fake medicines contain?

The Pharmacist cites an MHRA report saying fake medicines have been found to contain substances such as rat poison and arsenic.

Retatrutide itself is unlicensed here, as the page on [retatrutide in the UK](https://europeanpeptideshop.com/blog/retatrutide-uk-release-date/) explains. The [2026 timeline](https://europeanpeptideshop.com/blog/peptides-uk-2026-news/) sets the MHRA Birmingham raid among this year's other regulator actions.

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Materials listed on this site are supplied for in-vitro laboratory research and are not for use in or on humans or animals. They are not medicines. This article summarises published work and gives no dosing, administration, treatment or in-vivo guidance. Findings from a study apply to the material and conditions of that study, and they say nothing about any product listed here.

## References

- [MHRA, 15 October 2026](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/counterfeit-weight-loss-pens-worth-2-million-seized-by-mhra-and-west-mids-police)

- [Chemist+Druggist, 15 October 2026](https://www.chemistanddruggist.co.uk/news/regulation/around-2m-of-fake-weight-loss-jabs-seized-in-mhra-raid-YOLAORT7GJB3PILZCRPYZBABWI/)

- [The Pharmacist, 20 October 2026](https://www.thepharmacist.co.uk/in-practice/fake-weight-loss-pens-worth-2-million-seized-from-filthy-warehouse/)

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