MHRA uncovers thriving black market for pharmaceuticals

The UK’s medicines regulator says it is cracking down on the the illegal diversion of prescription medications onto the black market.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) says it currently has 19 active investigations and has made more than 40 arrests, revealing “an extensive network of criminality involving businesses such as wholesale dealers and a small number of registered pharmacies throughout the UK.”

Over a three-year period, up to £200 million ($283 million) of medications were diverted from pharmaceuticals supply chains, the agency says.