Law enforcement agencies have uncovered a large-scale scheme involving the illegal production and distribution in Ukraine of the counterfeit slimming product ‘Biopatid’, in connection with which 27 individuals have been named as suspects, according to a statement by the press service of the Office of the Prosecutor General on its Telegram channel on Sunday.
According to the investigation, the suspects include the organiser of the scheme and owner of the clandestine laboratory, the owner of a well-known Kyiv clinic, a customs broker, laboratory staff, packers, sales and advertising managers, as well as other participants in the criminal activity. The cost price of the main ingredients was around 17 dollars, whilst the finished product was sold for up to 1,200 dollars. According to preliminary data, products totalling more than 5 million dollars have been manufactured since the start of this year.
“The organiser of the scheme, aware of the high demand for slimming products and the high cost of medicines containing the active ingredient tirzepatide, decided to set up his own illegal ‘pharmaceutical business’. To this end, he set up an underground laboratory where a generic version of the drug was manufactured without any authorisation or quality control,” according to a statement released by the press office.
The raw materials were subsequently used in the clandestine laboratory. Those involved in the scheme set up a website and social media pages, recruited sales managers and actively advertised the drug. It was offered to beauty salons, clinics and healthcare professionals in various regions of Ukraine. Bloggers, actors and other public figures were also enlisted to promote the product.
As part of the criminal investigation, law enforcement officers carried out more than 250 authorised searches at premises where the counterfeit product was manufactured, stored, sold and distributed, as well as in hospitals and beauty salons. Investigative operations were carried out in Kyiv and the Kyiv region, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, Odesa, Poltava, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr, Mykolaiv, Rivne, Kharkiv, Khmelnytskyi and Chernihiv.
During the searches, the counterfeit medicine and raw materials used in its manufacture were seized, along with equipment from an underground laboratory, packaging materials and finished printed materials, documentation and drafts, mobile phones and computer equipment. Law enforcement officers also seized cash in various currencies totalling nearly 15 million hryvnias, luxury cars and other property.
The issue of imposing pre-trial measures on all suspects is currently being decided. The investigation was carried out by prosecutors in conjunction with SBU officers.
In accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of a crime and may not be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt has been proven in accordance with the law and established by a court’s conviction.