Ukraine conducts 250+ searches in counterfeit weight-loss drug case, detains 27
Ukraine's SBU and prosecutors carried out more than 250 simultaneous searches across the country on September 12 in an investigation into the illegal production and sale of Biopatid, a falsified injectable weight-loss drug. Twenty-seven suspects were detained and notified of suspicion. The Office of the Prosecutor General said further details would be published later.
Key points
- More than 250 authorized searches were conducted across Ukraine on September 12 in the Biopatid case.
- The SBU and the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office led the operation, under the procedural guidance of prosecutors.
- 27 participants were detained and notified of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 321-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (organized group; falsification of medicines).
- The SBU says the criminal organization included more than 70 people and earned millions of dollars, spent on cars, real estate and luxury goods.
- Investigators found a clandestine laboratory in the Kyiv region producing the drug in unsanitary conditions; finished products were distributed via online platforms, medical centers and cosmetology salons.
- Suspects are alleged to have smuggled the active pharmaceutical ingredient into Ukraine and used forged quality certificates.
- Biopatid, a tirzepatide-based injectable marketed as an analog of Ozempic and Mounjaro, is uncertified in Ukraine and was banned from circulation by the State Service of Medicines in January 2026.
- The Office of the Prosecutor General said details and results of the investigative actions would be published later.
Why it matters
With more than 250 simultaneous searches nationwide, this is one of the largest single-day law-enforcement operations reported in Ukraine. It targets a falsified injectable weight-loss drug that officials say poses direct health risks to consumers, and investigators allege an organized group of more than 70 people profited millions of dollars from the scheme. The case also exposes how uncertified drugs reach Ukrainian consumers through online platforms, cosmetology clinics and beauty salons.
What happened
On September 12, the SBU and the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, under the procedural guidance of prosecutors, carried out more than 250 authorized searches across multiple regions of Ukraine as part of an investigation into the illegal production and sale of Biopatid, a falsified weight-loss drug. Investigators say participants smuggled the active pharmaceutical ingredient into Ukraine, ran a clandestine laboratory in the Kyiv region under unsanitary conditions, and used forged quality certificates. Finished products were distributed through online platforms, medical centers and cosmetology salons. During the searches, 27 people were detained and notified of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 28 and Part 2 of Article 321-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which cover offenses committed by an organized group and the falsification of or trafficking in falsified medicines. The SBU says the criminal organization included more than 70 people who earned millions of dollars, spent on cars, real estate and luxury-brand goods. The Office of the Prosecutor General said further details and results of the investigative actions would be published later.
Background
Biopatid is an injectable drug based on tirzepatide, marketed in Ukraine by some cosmetology clinics, beauty salons and online stores as an analog of well-known diabetes and obesity drugs such as Ozempic and Mounjaro. The drug is not certified in Ukraine and was banned from circulation by the State Service of Medicines (Derzhliksluzhba) in January 2026 because its import routes and storage conditions were unknown. Law-enforcement officials said the falsified product poses a risk to people who may take it without knowing its origin or composition. The Biopatid operation follows other recent enforcement actions in Ukraine's pharmaceutical sector: in late August the SBU exposed inflated-price schemes for army medicines with damages over UAH 80 million, and in March police ran 70 searches at medical facilities over suspected fictitious services worth hundreds of millions. Separately, detectives of the Territorial Department of the Bureau of Economic Security in Volyn Oblast completed an investigation into an attempted illegal importation of more than 16 tons of food additives worth nearly UAH 58 million disguised as humanitarian aid for the Armed Forces.