Paris (France) (AFP) – Anti-obesity, peptides: trafficking in these drugs sold illegally on the internet has intensified in recent months, keeping pace with promising medical discoveries, sometimes putting the authorities responsible for containing it in difficulty, with dangerous consequences for health.

Published on: 02/10/2026 - 11:26

“We intercept them every week and we see a growing demand,” explains to AFP an analyst from the Medicines Observatory, within the national directorate of intelligence and customs investigations (DNRED), not wishing to be identified by name.

Online, dozens of sites illegally sell GLP-1 type anti-obesity treatments, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, or peptides without marketing authorization, presented as revolutionary for losing weight or improving muscle recovery.

Peptides are small chains of amino acids which, when assembled, form our body's proteins. Reproduced in the laboratory, they serve as active ingredients in known drugs, such as insulin.

Among the products seized by Customs: Retatrutide, a promising anti-obesity molecule, but "still in the experimental phase", specifies the analyst.

The central office for combating attacks on the environment and public health (OCLAESP) also notes "an increase in traffic" although "difficult to quantify", Commander Hugo Rodrigues told AFP. “It is unfortunately extremely easy to obtain these products”, mainly coming from India or China, he laments.

Faced with the explosion in trafficking, the Medicines Agency (ANSM), as well as other European health agencies, sounded the alert in September 2025 concerning anti-obesity drugs, before extending it to peptides in the summer. It has since taken “around ten health policy decisions”, aimed at stopping the illegal sale or advertising of these products.

She indicates that she makes reports on the Pharos portal of the Ministry of the Interior, where illicit content on the internet is declared, and "systematically refers cases to the Public Prosecutor" that are "under investigation".

“Difficult to contain”

However, the means available to health authorities to stop trafficking appear limited and the ANSM recognizes that the phenomenon "remains difficult to stem".

First of all, the authorities contacted cannot directly block or close a site illegally selling these products, because this requires that "the administrator agrees to remove the ads", describes Commander Hugo Rodrigues.

And even if one site closes, “the next day, another opens. We cannot cope with this plasticity,” he admits.

Added to this are regulatory difficulties linked to product qualification.

Certain peptides sold illegally on the internet and recently arrived on the market are not recognized as "medicines" by the health authorities, there is "no legal basis to seize the products", explains the intelligence and customs investigation analyst.

Result: "decisions are made on a case-by-case basis, by contacting partner authorities, and it happens that we are obliged to release the goods even if this is increasingly rare", because these products are increasingly better identified as medicines, he explains.

Underestimated reports

The ANSM also regularly reminds that the composition of products sold illegally on the internet "is unknown" and that "their use can cause serious health problems".

In 2025, around ten cases of adverse effects linked to the use of GLP-1 type anti-obesity drugs obtained via the Internet, social networks or the black market have been reported in France, explains Jean-Luc Faillie, coordinator of the national pharmacovigilance survey on these drugs, to AFP.

This number is “very strongly underestimated”, believes the pharmacologist.

Among the adverse effects observed, a 33-year-old young man suffered a hypoglycemic coma after injecting himself with a product presented as Ozempic, "but surely being insulin", describes Professor Faillie.

Concerning Retatrutide, around ten reports have been made since the spring, "which is unprecedented for a drug still in development", he underlines.

The ANSM insists on the “major role” of “information to the general public and communication around the dangerousness of these products”.

For Professor Faillie, we must take measures against their promotion online and strengthen “the fight against disinformation”.

© 2026 AFP

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