June 26, 2025 | Incident and Crime Statistics , Alcohol and Drugs
Request Number: FOI/14900
Category: Incident and Crime Statistics - Alcohol and Drugs
Subject: Illegal supply and use of weight loss injections
Request and Answer:
In relation to request number FOI/14900 Police Service of Northern Ireland is providing an NCND response and will explain this further in the response below.
Request
The main purpose of this request is to gather data on the illegal supply and use of weight loss injections.
I am requesting the following data, covering the period from January 1, 2020, to the present (including partial data for 2025, if available)
Specifically, I am seeking information on the following
*Incidents and Investigations*
B The number of recorded incidents or investigations involving the illegal sale, possession, or administration of weight loss injections from January 1st 2020, to the most recent available date.
Request 2
A breakdown of how many incidents occurred in each calendar year
*Arrests and Outcomes*
Request 1
The number of arrests made in connection with these incidents.
Request 2
The number of individuals charged or prosecuted as a result.
IF HELD
*Substances Involved*
Request 1
A list of weight loss substances involved in these cases, where recorded (e.g. semaglutide, liraglutide, or other prescription-only or unlicensed drugs)
Answer Requests
In accordance with the Act, this letter represents a Refusal Notice for this particular request. The Police Service of Northern Ireland can neither confirm nor deny that it holds the information you have requested.
Section 1 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA) places two duties on public authorities. Unless exemptions apply, the first duty at Section 1(1)(a) is to confirm or deny whether the information specified in the request is held. The second duty at Section 1(1)(b) is to disclose information that has been confirmed as being held.
Where exemption/s are relied upon Section 17(1) of FOIA requires that we provide the applicant with a notice which
a) states that fact,
b) specifies the exemption(s) in question and
c) states (if that would not otherwise be apparent) why the exemption applies.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) can Neither Confirm Nor Deny that it holds the information relevant to your request as the duty in Section 1(1)(a) of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not apply by virtue of the following exemptions:
Section 30(3) Investigations
Section 31(3) Law Enforcement
Section 40(5) Personal Information
The full text of exemptions can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk and further guidance on how they operate can be located on the Information Commissioners Office website www.ico.org.uk.
‘Neither Confirm nor Deny’ (NCND)
There may be occasions when complying with the duty to confirm or deny under section 1(1) (a) would in itself disclose sensitive or potentially damaging information that falls under an exemption. In these circumstances, the Act allows a public authority to respond by refusing to confirm or deny whether it holds the requested information.
The decision to issue a ‘neither confirm nor deny’ response is not affected by whether we do or do not hold the information but relates to the consequences of confirming or denying the information is held. The starting point and main focus in most cases will be theoretical considerations about the consequences of confirming or denying that a particular type of information is held. The decision to neither confirm nor deny is separate from a decision not to disclose information and needs to be taken entirely on its own merits.
PSNI follow the Information Commissioner’s Guidance in relation to ‘NCND’ and you may find it helpful to refer to this at the following link:
Section 40(5B)(a)(i) - Personal Information
The release of information under Freedom of Information (FOI) is a release into the public domain and not just to the individual requesting the information. Once information is disclosed by FOI there is no control or limits as to who or how the information is shared with other individuals, therefore a release under FOI is considered a disclosure to the world in general.
To confirm or deny that PSNI hold or do not hold information would in fact confirm information about an individual. This would amount to a release into the public domain of personal information about an individual and likely to cause distress. The individual would have no expectation that these details would be released into the public domain; therefore PSNI would breach its data protection obligations and be unfair to individuals.
Section 30 is a qualified class based exemption and a public interest test must be conducted.
Section 31 is a qualified prejudice based exemption and evidence of harm and a public interest test must be conducted.
Evidence of Harm
To confirm or deny whether information is held in relation to any alleged criminal activity of an individual/s would be likely to prejudice law enforcement functions of preventing and detecting crime, apprehending and prosecuting offenders. Issuing confirmation or denial responses in relation to any allegations, except for those that have already been publicly confirmed, would enable the public to build up a picture of who may have been subject of any allegations. This would be prejudicial to policing functions, as individuals including victims may be less willing to come forward or assist with our enquiries if they were to believe that this information may become public knowledge and them identified.
Factors favouring confirming or denying whether the information is held (Section 30)
The Police Service has a duty to conduct criminal investigations and by providing information held would help the public interest and provide transparency of policing operations.
Factors favouring neither confirming nor denying whether the information is held (Section 30)
Any information generated by an investigation needs to be treated with sensitivity. In some cases, it is the confirmation, or otherwise, about who may be the subject of any such investigations, which would disclose facts that would prejudice the evidence gathering within an investigation.
In addition, it would not be in the public interest to disclose information (even inadvertently, through a confirmation or denial) which could identify investigative activities, and subsequently undermine those processes. To do so would hinder the prevention or detection of crime, and apprehension and prosecution of offenders.
Factors favouring confirming or denying whether the information is held (Section 31)
Confirming or denying whether information is held regarding allegations made by or against individuals, would allow the public to see where the public funds are being spent and show the police service to be open and transparent in regards to its activities.
Factors favouring neither confirming nor denying whether the information is held (Section 31)
To confirm or deny that law enforcement holds information on any individual/s in relation to this matter has the potential to damage the ability of PSNI to prevent and detect crime or apprehend or prosecute offenders in any associated allegations or cases, including tactics and/or reveal sources of information.
Once information is disclosed under the FOI there is no control or limits as to who or how the information is shared with other individuals. Therefore a release under FOI is considered a disclosure to the world in general.
Balance Test
After weighing up the competing interests we have determined that the Public Interest favours the application of the neither confirm nor deny stance in respect of your request. We consider that the benefit that would result from issuing a confirmation or denial does not outweigh the considerations favouring the neither confirm nor deny response. To confirm or deny the existence of the requested information, would allow interested parties to gain an upper hand and awareness of policing decisions used during investigations, leading to an increase of harm to either the investigation itself or the subject of the investigation.
To confirm or deny whether we hold this information would do little to further the public interest arguments, and in fact would have a negative impact upon PSNI’s abilities to protect public safety and the promise of confidentiality inherent in our communications with those assisting with our enquiries.
Therefore, for the reasons set out above, we have found the balance test favours neither confirmation or denial and accordingly refuse your application.
However, this should not be taken as conclusive evidence that the information you requested exists or does not exist.
Under Section 16 ‘Duty to Assist’, it would be PSNI’s suggestion that the Department of Health who are the agency who are the primary enforcers around medication and therefore may be able to assist and can be accessed at the following link: