CUSTOMS OFFICERS INTERCEPTED a passenger at Dublin Airport carrying €12,000 worth of potentially dangerous “skinny pen” weight loss injections following a trip to Turkey, a court has heard.

Patrick Fay, Fitzgerald Park, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, who tried to bring home a five-year supply, pleaded guilty to three charges.

The offences were under the Irish Medicines Board Acts for unlawfully importing Saxenda injections, keeping them for supply, and placing them on the Irish market without authorisation.

Dublin District Court heard the building maintenance worker was stopped at Terminal 1 arrivals on 13 November 2023, leading to the Health Products Regulatory Authority prosecution.

One of their officials told the court the injections, nicknamed skinny pens, have the potential to kill people with certain conditions when used without proper medical supervision.

Ciaran Wright said: “It is extremely worrying to the authorities, and it appears to be a more common factor now these pens are more available on the streets outside the legal supply chain.”

Sentencing was adjourned until March for a probation report on Fay. The judge is considering 100 hours of community service instead of a three-month sentence.

In evidence, Mr Wright, an HPRA authorised officer, told Judge Anthony Halpin that customs officers stopped Fay, who had just flown back from Kusadasi.

The witness agreed with Brian Gageby BL, prosecuting, that Fay’s bag contained 60 pens labelled Saxenda. He had claimed the product was for himself, three family members, and two friends.

He said he had bought them before through Instagram or Facebook, but in this case, he had got them over the counter while on his trip to Turkey.

Mr Gageby told the court that Saxenda was authorised for supply through pharmacies only with a prescription. However, Fay’s skinny pens did not have European marketing authorisation, and there was no English or Irish translation.

There was no patient information leaflet on how to use the product or warning about side effects and dangers for users taking Saxenda if they had certain medical conditions.

The pre-filled Saxenda pens in Fay’s luggage were for the Turkish market.

Mr Wright said each pen contained multiple doses.

“There would be severe risks for persons who would not be under medical supervision,” the witness explained.

The father of three had a five-and-a-half-year supply, and each pen had a street value of €150 to €200. Fay had 40 injections for himself, valued at approximately €8,000, and the rest for family and friends.

The court heard the medication was generally for people clinically overweight, with diabetes and other similar conditions. It is injected daily in the thigh, abdomen, or arm, which should be explained by a doctor.

The court heard there was a “severe risk” to patients with heart failure, diabetes, and people aged over 75.

It could also cause a severe allergic reaction and inflammation of the pancreas: the most common side effects affecting one in 10 people were nausea, vomiting, headaches and diarrhoea.

The HPRA witness said it was unusual for a pharmacy, even in Turkey, to supply that quantity without a prescription.

The offence carries a maximum €4,000 fine or 12 months imprisonment per charge. The prosecution accepted that Fay entered an early guilty plea, but the HPRA wants payment of €1,350, the cost of analysing and destroying the medication.

The witness agreed that when questioned, Fay maintained he did not know it was wrong, and he apologised and cooperated. He had admitted the medication caused him to suffer nausea.

The court heard he had no prior convictions

His barrister said he worked full-time and showed clear remorse.

Judge Halpin did not accept a defence proposition that it was like buying paracetamol, which can also be fatal, from a supermarket.

“You would have to take 400 or 500; one jab of this could kill you,” he said. However, the judge said he would give Fay the benefit of the doubt about his account to the HPRA.