Harrow men jailed after secret Acton pharmaceutical lab busted

Roshan Valentine, his dad Allen Valentine and his childhood friend Krunal Patel were producing Benzodiazepines (a sedative medication) and selling them on the dark web. 

They were also advertising the sale of Xanax, a brand name of the tranquiliser alprazolam, and diazepam, often known as Valium. 

An investigation began when the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) informed the Met that the men were selling pharmaceutical drugs online. 

Met detectives established that the trio were visiting a warehouse unit at Acton Business Centre where they produced, packaged and supplied the drugs. 

Each of the men visited the unit every day and Patel was often seen leaving with large bags then returning minutes later without them. 

They operated under the cover of a company called Puzzle Logisitics Limited, which was formed in 2016.

Fake Xanax produced by the trio (Image: Met Police) 

Detectives established that buyers used cryptocurrency to buy the drugs on the dark web and the trio had converted that into £2 million. 

On August 17 last year Patel was near the warehouse, with 15 parcels labelled for posting to addresses across the UK. 

The parcels contained tablets labelled Xanax and Teva, both brand names of licensed medicines. 

Roshan and Allen Valentine were arrested later the same day. 

A search of the warehouse revealed a secret lab which contained equipment, containers of chemicals and numerous crates of pills. 

The secret drugs lab they were operating from (Image: Met Police)

All three men were charged with: 

• Conspiracy to produce and supply Class C drugs 
• Possession of Class C drugs with intent to supply 
• Two charges under trademark law 
• Conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property. 

Patel and Roshan Valentine pleaded guilty to the charges. Allen Valentine pleaded not guilty but was found guilty at trial. 

Patel, aged 40, of Carmalite Road in Harrow, was sentenced to six years in prison. 

Roshan Valentine, 39, of Hilliard Road in Northwood, was sentenced to seven years in prison. 

Allen Valentine, 63, of Kynaston Wood in Harrow, was sentenced to 11 years in prison. 

The accounts containing their illicit gains have now been frozen. 

Detective Constable Alex Hawkins, of the Met’s Cyber Crime Unit led the investigation. He said: “The three men ran a sophisticated, large scale production of fake pharmaceutical drugs sold on the dark web that appeared to be genuine. Their operation was solely for the greed of those involved bearing no concern for the vulnerabilities of those purchasing these drugs. 

“Some of the drugs contained completely different chemicals from those which should be in the genuine tablets; some of them are extremely dangerous. 

“This is the first seizure of those chemicals in the UK and as such legislation will be amended later this year to include these drugs under the Misuse of Drugs Act as Class A substances. Stopping the manufacturing of these drugs has removed a significant risk to the public. 

“We would like to thank pharmaceutical companies Viatris and Teva UK for assisting the Met in our investigation and supporting our prosecution against these dangerous and fraudulent men. 

“I’d urge anyone to seek medical advice and obtain a prescription for medication through a doctor. If you buy from the dark web there is no guarantee what is in the substances, as with this case.”