• Six suspects have been arrested after police busted a syndicate that sold illegal performance enhancing drugs and steroids online.
• Police seized a sizeable amount of substances from different locations allegedly belonging to this syndicate.
• The drugs were being sold on a website, where people could also trade for substances similar to Tik.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) have announced the bust of a syndicate that was selling illegal steroids, scheduled medicines, stimulants and performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) online, with six suspects apprehended in Pretoria.

Sales of the illegal substances were being made on a website, where the suspects were selling but also trading the drugs as well as counterfeit medicines, PEDs and steroids to unsuspecting shoppers. One of these products include Dimethylphenethylamine known by its street name “fat burner.”

This substance, according to the police, is an isomer of methamphetamine, otherwise known as crystal meth or by its South African name Tik. During the arrest of the six suspects, three men and three women, at different locations in Pretoria, the police also seized a “substantial quantity” of illegal steroids, medicines and electronic devices used to facilitate the sales.

#sapsHQ #SAPS has uncovered a drug syndicate selling steroids, scheduled medicine, stimulants and other performance enhancing drugs (PED's) online, leading to the arrest of six suspects, three men and three women.

These suspects were arrested at various locations in Pretoria.… https://t.co/gCbv3eViri pic.twitter.com/foMTrCVTKH

— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) February 11, 2025

It was a multi-prong operation that eventually led to the arrests, including members of the SAPS National Organised Crime Investigations (OCI) Narcotics Unit, Crime Intelligence, SAPS K9 Search and Rescue, the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) and the South African Institute for Drug-Free Sport and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC), among others.

“The suspects face multiple charges related to the contravention of the Drugs and Drug Trafficking Act, Medicines and Related Substances Act, and the Counterfeit Goods Act,” the police said in a post on X.

The arrests come after SAHPRA warned consumers to not buy weight-loss and diabetes treating medicines from online stores, as most of these sell fraudulent drugs.

“SAHPRA is monitoring the supply chain as well as the online platforms for unregistered, substandard, and falsified medicines containing or claiming to contain semaglutide. We are also investigating any contraventions relating to the Medicines and Related Substances,” said SAHPRA CEO, Dr Boitumelo Semete-Makokotlela in November 2024.

It said that a prescription is required to legally purchase Ozempic and Mounjaro in South Africa, and that online stores will often sell counterfeits that will either not work or cause unknown health risks. We found that many of these websites were easy to find on Google.

[Source – SA News]

[Image – Photo by JOSHUA COLEMAN on Unsplash]