Everton Reynolds, Paul Billingham, Junior Ranger and Anita Rama were sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court following their convictions in November 2025.

Dr Alison Cave, MHRA chief safety officer, said: ‘This was a sophisticated and highly profitable criminal scheme that showed a complete disregard for patient safety. Prescription only medicines should only be obtained with a prescription issued by a qualified healthcare professional and dispensed by a registered pharmacy. 

‘Criminals who sell medicines illegally put the public at risk and undermine confidence in the healthcare system.

‘I'm incredibly proud of the hard work of my colleagues and their determination to bring these criminals to justice. We will continue to identify, disrupt and prosecute those involved in the illegal supply of medicines and will use every tool available to protect the public.'

Investigators linked the group to almost 2m doses of medicinal products, including Diazepam, Clonazepam, Lorazepam, Alprazolam, Codeine, Zolpidem and Zopiclone, as well as unauthorised versions of medicines and illegally supplied prescription-only medicines.