The murky underworld of Scotland’s ‘fat jab’ black market revealed as drug dealers shift from coke to Ozempic
DRUG dealers are selling black market Ozempic on Scotland’s streets alongside cocaine, we can reveal.
Desperate slimmers are being warned not to buy bootleg Ozempic from cocaine gangsters — as they could be endangering their health.
Leading doctors issued the plea as drug dealers flog the prescription-only fat-loss jabs for £80 a month.
One crook texted potential customers promising rapid weight-shedding “results” despite fears the jabs are stolen or counterfeit.
In the message, seen by The Scottish Sun, the peddler wrote: “Happy hump day. Driver is out to 4am. Ozempic back in stock, these will go fast again, same as last time.
“We’ve only got 20, if you want to see the results people have been getting, drop us a message.”
The so-called wonder drug has exploded in popularity after being used by stars including Oprah Winfrey, Amy Schumer, Sharon Osbourne and James Corden.
But experts warned overweight Scots looking to shed pounds that street dealers are more interested in pocketing vast profits than supplying “genuine medication”.
Dr Chris Provan, chairman of Royal College of General Practitioners Scotland, urged potential users to instead go to their GP.
He said: “Street dealers do not have the clinical expertise to recommend treatments, and they will be unable to consider possible interactions with other medications or side effects.
“Ultimately, this poses a danger to a person’s health.
“If you are seeking medical support with weight loss, please approach a healthcare professional to understand the healthcare options that are right for you.”
Glasgow-based pushers are also punting party drugs alongside fat jab including cocaine from £50 and ketamine at £40 a gram.
They insist on a minimum order of £50, only allow the drugs to be collected by one person per order and charge £10 for bank transfers if the buyer does not have cash.
Cops declined to comment on the messages.
But Tories shadow health secretary Dr Sandesh Gulhane condemned “downright dangerous” Ozempic street deals.
The MSP and GP said: “This gravely concerns me as a doctor.”
Ozempic was developed as a diabetes drug but manufacturers noticed it also helped patients lose weight as it makes them feel full for longer. It can not legally be bought.
But there are fears slimmers could be tempted on to the black market to save costs on the £200 cost of a four-week course of Wegovy, which contains semaglutide — the same active ingredient as Ozempic.
Watchdogs warned there is “no way” to identify if a product sold on the streets is genuine.
Warning about the purity of black market substances, Public Health Scotland said: “Prescription drugs purchased from illegitimate sources or online marketplaces may be counterfeit.
“This means that they may not contain the drug advertised and may contain contaminants or adulterants — additional substances.
OZEMPIC EXPLAINED
SEMAGLUTIDE, sold under the brand names Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, is a drug originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes and as an anti-obesity medication used for long-term weight management.
The weekly injection works by suppressing the appetite – mimicking a naturally occurring hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1, which is usually released after eating.
As a result patients feel fuller for longer, and reduce the number of calories they eat.
Side effects can include sickness, bloating, acid reflux, constipation and diarrhoea.
Other rare complications include gallbladder problems, kidney failure, serious allergic reaction and depression.
A study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found nausea and diarrhoea were the most common side-effects.
But these were “typically transient and mild-to-moderate in severity and subsided with time”, researchers said.
Alongside the side effects, some charities have warned the drug could be dangerous for people at risk of developing disorders.
National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) guidance says the drug should only be offered to obese adults with at least one weight-related condition and a BMI of at least 35.
The weight-related conditions include type 2 diabetes, prediabetes, high blood pressure, unbalanced or unhealthy cholesterol levels, obstructive sleep apnoea and heart disease.
“These drugs may not have gone through the quality control and quality assurance processes that we would expect of medicines.”
They went on: “There is no way to identify if a product is genuine or not. Packaging on counterfeit medication can appear almost identical to prescribed medication.”
Labour health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie said: “It is incredibly worrying that these medications may be getting sold illegally.
“It is appalling that drug dealers are exploiting demand for these medications and potentially putting people in danger.”
Nurse Susan McGowan, 58, from Airdrie, last year became the first person thought to have after taking a weight-loss jab approved by the NHS.
She had two low-dose injections of tirzepatide, also known as Mounjaro.
She suffered from multiple organ failure, septic shock and pancreatitis, with the drug noted as a contributing factor on her death certificate.
We revealed in February 82 Brits have died using weight-loss and diabetes drugs like Ozempic and Mounjaro.
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