Customs officers said on Monday they have seized suspected smuggled controlled injections and medicines used for weight-loss, beauty and anti-wrinkle treatments as well as male enhancement purposes, worth over HK$140 million.

They found 100,000 injection vials, 340,000 tablets and 60 kilogrammes of suspected controlled medicines in nine cases.

Four suspects aged 26 to 61 have been arrested, including one who is thought to have been in charge of an online store selling the products.

Divisional commander Anthony Tang said the injections were sold at eight times the price of similar products available under prescription from doctors.

"Customs officers found that most of the seized injections and drugs were not properly handled at the specified temperature during transportation and storage. They were packaged in a crude manner," he said.

"According to the product descriptions, some medications have to be stored at two to eight degrees.

"But the lawbreakers tried to cut costs and step up mobility by not having refrigeration equipment during transportation and failed to meet storage requirements.

"Therefore, the quality and safety of relevant injections and drugs are in serious doubt."

Tang said he believed most of the injections had not entered the market yet, as officers raided the shop's Yuen Long warehouse shortly after it started operating.

The Department of Health urged people not to purchase or use drugs and medicines from unknown sources, pointing out that as most of the weight-loss injections should only be used under supervision by doctors, consumers would be putting their health at risk if they opted for self-administration.



Edited by Thomas McAlinden