A large-scale criminal network supplying illegal steroids and prescription-only medication worth £1.8 million has been uncovered by the medicines watchdog, leading to seven men being sentenced.
The investigation by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) Criminal Enforcement Unit discovered more than 130,000 doses of steroids and unauthorised medicines, including products such as tamoxifen, finasteride and modafinil.
The illegal supply was traced after a website linked to the Bolton area was suspected of selling performance-enhancing steroids and other illegal medicines by the UK Anti-Doping (UKAD).
MHRA investigators traced the activity to a flat above commercial premises on St Helens Road in Bolton, which was being used to store, package, and distribute the drugs.
Seven men were charged with offences including conspiracy to supply controlled drugs, supplying unauthorised medicines, and money laundering to the value of over £1.8 million and received combined sentences totalling more than 21 years’ imprisonment.
“This was a well-organised operation that put people at real risk. Medicines bought outside regulated channels can be unsafe, ineffective or fake,” Tim Duffield, MHRA Head of Intelligence said.
Zaheer Oomer, who is unemployed, pleaded guilty at an early stage to all charges, including money laundering offences to a value of £99,893.
Rizwan Atcha, a health and safety advisor, Imtiaz Atcha, a former bank manager, and Matthew Williams, a care worker, also pleaded guilty at the start of the trial in June 2025. Each admitted money laundering offences to the value of £772,112, £117,733 and £221,349 respectively.
Abdul Khan, a scrap metal dealer, Saddym Shahid, a mechanic, and Rajendra Patel, a scrap metal worker, pleaded not guilty and stood trial at Bolton Crown Court. They faced charges of money laundering involving £139,967, $248,750 and £229,061 respectively. Following consideration of extensive evidence, the jury found all three men guilty on 7 July 2025.
The MHRA urges people to only buy medicines from trusted and regulated sources, such as a pharmacist.
Steroids are prescription-only medicines that are sometimes taken without medical advice to increase muscle mass and improve athletic performance – which can cause serious side effects and addiction, the NHS warns. It’s illegal to possess, import or export anabolic steroids if it is believed the person is supplying or selling them and can result in a prison sentence of up to 14 years.
The seizure of steroids and prescription drugs, comes as data suggests more than 6,500 counterfeit or unlicensed weight loss injections have been seized in the UK in the past three years. This includes drugs seized from a farm and home in Lincolnshire suspected of being involved in a criminal network making and selling fake jabs that are potentially deadly.
More than 27,000 units of unlicensed dermal fillers have also been confiscated since 2020 worth up to £4m which dermatologists warned could cause “disfigurement and infection”.
Mario Theophanous, UKAD’s Head of Intelligence and Investigations, said: “Disrupting the supply of illegal performance-enhancing drugs is central to protecting sport.
“Our intelligence officers work in partnership with regulators and law enforcement, to identify and dismantle the criminal networks that make these substances available.
“That collaboration is a vital part of how we keep prohibited substances out of sport, and away from elite athletes and young people.”
