Made in an underground laboratory and sold throughout Ukraine. Law enforcement officers exposed a scheme with a counterfeit weight loss drug

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Prosecutorʼs Office (PGO) have uncovered a large-scale scheme to manufacture and sell the counterfeit weight loss drug “Biopatid”. It was manufactured in an underground laboratory in the Kyiv region and sold throughout Ukraine.

This was reported by the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office and the Security Service of Ukraine.

According to the investigation, the organizer of the scheme imported tirzepatide from China, an active ingredient for drugs used for weight loss and sugar control. To hide the true purpose of the raw material and bypass customs control, it was registered as a food supplement.

From this raw material of dubious quality, counterfeit medicines were produced in a specially equipped laboratory in the Kyiv region. The production and storage of the drugs took place in unsanitary conditions.

The finished “Biopatid” was sold through the website and social networks, and was also offered to clinics, cosmetology offices and medical workers. Bloggers, actors and other public figures were involved for advertising.

At the same time, the drug was sent to buyers without observing the required temperature regime. According to the prosecutorʼs office, the cost of basic materials was approximately $17, and the finished drug was sold for up to $1 200. Since the beginning of the year, the participants in the scheme have produced products worth more than $5 million.

In total, the criminal organization included more than 70 people. In particular, the investigation reported on the role of the owner of a well-known Kyiv clinic. According to law enforcement officers, she knew about the illegality of the drug, but popularized it among colleagues, at specialized trainings and on social networks.

Law enforcement officers conducted over 250 searches in Kyiv and Kyiv region, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, Rivne, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and Chernihiv.

They seized counterfeit drugs and raw materials, laboratory equipment, packaging, machinery and documentation. They also seized almost 15 million hryvnias in various currencies, expensive cars and other property.

In total, 27 people were notified of the suspicion. Among them were the organizer of the scheme, the owner of the clinic, a customs broker, laboratory workers, packers, and sales and advertising managers.

The suspects are charged with falsification of medicines and their circulation as part of an organized group. They face up to 10 years in prison with confiscation of property. The investigation is identifying other participants in the scheme, raw material supply channels, the volumes of manufactured and sold medicines, as well as possible victims of their use.

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