A man from Maesteg, Bridgend has been jailed for 3 years after a multi-agency investigation into his manufacture and supply of DNP diet pills.
DNP, which stands for 2,4-Dinitrophenol, is an industrial chemical that has been illegally sold as a diet pill for weight loss. DNP is poisonous to humans and has been banned for human consumption in the United Kingdom. It can cause death, as well as other serious physical side effects.
Kyle Enos, 33, was arrested by officers from Tarian, the Regional Organised Crime Unit (ROCU) for southern Wales, in July 2024 after information was received from the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Enos was found to have purchased the pure form sodium salt of 2,4-Dinitrophenol powder from China via the Dark Web. He then manufactured the pills using cutting agents and a pill press in his bedroom. He advertised the pills, and other regulated medications, on a website he had created. Enos would receive orders via email and ship the products, disguised as vitamins and minerals, both domestically within the UK and internationally.
A previous conviction for the supply of Fentanyl, a Class A drug, meant that Enos had breached a Serious Crime Prevention Order (SCPO) through his continued offending.
Enos was charged with multiple drug offences and pleaded guilty at Cardiff Magistrates Court on May 1 this year.
He was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court yesterday (May 29) to 36 months for the following offences:
- Member of public import / acquire / possess / use a regulated substance without licence
- Supply regulated substance to member of public without verifying licence / recognised non-GB licence
- Supply of regulated poison by person other than a pharmacist
- Fail to comply with a serious crime prevention order
- Fail to comply with a serious crime prevention order
- Fail to comply with a serious crime prevention order
- Fail to comply with a serious crime prevention order
- Fail to comply with a serious crime prevention order
Detective Constable Kieran Morris, of Tarian ROCU, said: “Operation Guazuma was a proactive partnership investigation with the NCA, the National Food Crime Unit, the Ministry of Defence, HM Prison and Probation Service, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority, and South Wales Police.
“The swift arrest of Enos and the removal of these poisonous diet pills from the open market was our utmost priority. Enos was supplying the pills with no safety precautions in place, and no advice on dosages. This could have led to buyers becoming extremely ill or even dying.
“Tarian ROCU are committed to safeguarding members of the public not only within our region, but across the United Kingdom and beyond. The sentence handed down to Enos today should serve as a warning to others engaging in similar criminality.”
Head of the NCA’s Prisons and Lifetime Management Unit Alison Abbott said: “Serious Crime Prevention Orders are a powerful tool to help prevent those convicted of serious offences continue their criminality when they come out of prison.
“This case should serve as a warning to others. As we did with Enos, we will actively monitor all those who are subject to such orders, and they will stay on our radar even after they are released from jail. Our work with TARIAN and other partners means he is back behind bars.”
