Of the €600 Maria was swindled out of by trafficking networks: desperation for the 'ozempic' is multiplying scams in Spain.

María , a widowed septuagenarian from the Basque Country, has been taking Mounjaro (one of Ozempic's cousins ) for some time to control her weight. One day, through an online community that discusses topics related to the medication, a woman contacted her and began to gain her trust. Shortly after, she announced in a WhatsApp group that she was going to Gibraltar with her mother to buy this same treatment—since it's cheaper and more available there—and that anyone interested in getting it should talk to her.

Maria contacted him and followed his instructions: she sent the prescription to a pharmacy in Gibraltar, where she paid the 513.15 euros it cost, and another 100 euros via Bizum to the intermediary who would pick it up and then mail it to her home. But she never saw the medication , and in fact, it ended up in someone else's home.

Although the name used is fictitious, these are the facts outlined in the alleged fraud complaint filed with the National Police , to which El Confidencial has had access. These facts have been highlighted by the National Association of Patients Supported for Obesity Treatments (ANATO), which is what encouraged María to file a complaint, despite her deep shame.

Manuel Martín , president of Anato, sums up what his association describes as a “scam by a false intermediary in the purchase of Mounjaro” : “First of all, we start from a problem: here in Spain, medication has exorbitant prices. People with limited resources and anyone with access to Gibraltar buy the medication there, because we're talking about a 15-milligram treatment in Spain that costs 446 euros, in Gibraltar it's 200 pounds, about 230 euros, half that. That's where it all starts. Then, they send the prescription to a pharmacy in Gibraltar , pay for the medication, and this false intermediary goes to collect it on their behalf and never sends it to the person who originally paid for it.”

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Although María's was the first complaint , filed in April 2025, the president of Anato explains to El Confidencial that this same process has been repeated with dozens of people . Therefore, this complaint has been expanded twice.

Martín emphasizes not only the "scam" this intermediary is carrying out, but also the fact that she then makes more money by reselling it to a third party who doesn't have a prescription. He explains that they were able to verify this because they were able to trace a code from a shipment back to a person who confessed to having purchased it from the intermediary.

Peptide trafficking networks

Anato has also denounced the existence of "peptide trafficking networks via WhatsApp," in groups with more than 200 people. The association claims to have documented that "an organized group is offering help in obtaining injectable peptides due to the shortage of official treatments."

The marketing of these products is restricted to research purposes , so they are not authorized for use by the general public. This could constitute a crime against public health. The Spanish Agency for Medicines and Medical Devices has already been notified of these facts.

The association managed to infiltrate these groups, where "they talk about buying peptides, which is the active ingredient in the medication, for example, in the Mounjaro case, tirzepatide, from Chinese laboratories." Martín explains that leading the purchase from the laboratory is "a woman from southern Spain," who also "is giving advice on how to use these peptides, offering to record video tutorials and training people on how to administer them." At this point, the president of Anato emphasizes that, furthermore, the people who access this active ingredient don't even know they are buying it: "It could actually be the peptide, as a derivative with a smaller quantity, a harmless substance, or even something toxic."

He also explains that the groups share how they manage to bypass customs to avoid detection . To do this, they divide the shipment into smaller ones, which don't arrive directly to Spain, but instead pass through other countries with less border control, and then arrive by road. So far, the largest purchase they've been able to verify in Anato amounts to 3,000 euros.

When asked what the reason for so many shady deals around GLP-1 inhibitors is, the president of Anato is clear: "Because medication in Spain is exorbitantly expensive , as it's a treatment that costs at least 500 euros a month. If we take into account that the average salary is around 1,200 euros, and if, for example, you have to pay rent, you can't afford the medication, and in the end, out of desperation, people turn to anything that seems to work."

"If you're selling a box of strawberries for five euros, and apparently the same box of strawberries is being sold to you at the fruit stand across the street for one euro, you say, 'Well, I'll try it for one euro.' What's happening? It's possible that the good ones are the ones on top, and the rest go straight to the trash. Well, the same thing could be happening here with what you're buying: it's useless," he exemplifies.

For all these reasons, in addition to warning the public about the risks of this scam , he once again warns of the health dangers . "Peptides are not approved for human use. These vials are sold because they are supposedly intended for laboratory research, but under no circumstances can they be used for human consumption," he explains.

Along the same lines, Carlos Andrés Cáceres, a doctor at Yazen, a clinic specializing in obesity treatment, warns of "the medical consequences of purchasing a medication whose origin is unknown." In a conversation with this newspaper, he emphasizes that by purchasing drugs as they do in the WhatsApp group, " we cannot verify in any way what medication we are ordering or assuming we are buying. We don't know if the concentration is the same as it should be. We also don't know the means of transport, the dilution of the medications, or the chemical composition of a medication because, since it is an illegal medication, we cannot know that information."

In any case, as a summary, Anato recommends:

• Do not purchase medication through unofficial channels or without a prescription.
• Verify that the prescription is issued using authorized systems, such as the Standardized Private Electronic Medical Prescription (REMPe).
• Avoid any intermediary who offers “favors” in exchange for money to obtain medication.
• Don't trust WhatsApp groups or social media sites that offer peptides or miracle treatments.
• Always consult with a certified healthcare professional and go to specialized clinics that operate under legal and health guarantees.