Hong Kong customs seizes 14,080 smuggled slimming injections bound for Macau
Bust announced after SCMP investigation found prescription-only slimming injections sold online and at a local pharmacy without a doctor’s approval
Hong Kong customs has seized more than 14,000 weight-loss injections bound for Macau.
The Department of Health also said that it was investigating an illegal online sale of a slimming product containing controlled drug ingredients and would take appropriate follow-up action. Authorities also suspected that the medication was unregistered.
According to the Customs and Excise Department, the injections, tobacco products and other smuggled goods seized from a river trade vessel at Black Point, Tuen Mun, Wednesday of last week were estimated to be worth about HK$56 million (US$7.2 million).
Samples of the 14,080 slimming injections, displayed to the press in boxes labelled “Mounjaro” a brand by Japan’s Tanabe Pharma, were shown to reporters. Customs said each needle retails for around HK$200.
“These [injections] have gained popularity in recent years … we’ve seen a rising trend in smuggling cases involving slimming injections,” Woo Suet-yi, an investigator with the department’s syndicate crimes investigation bureau, said.