The health ministry said the raids, jointly carried out with the police, led to unregistered medications, the majority of which contained anabolic steroids, being confiscated, Berita Harian reported.

The ministry’s pharmacy enforcement director, Zawawi Abdullah, also said several people were arrested, including a married couple in their 30s.

He said the couple had stored the medicines at their home.

Zawawi believes the suspects were part of a syndicate that had been selling the medicines illegally since 2020.

“The syndicate would promote the medicines online to avoid detection by the authorities.

“Most of the medicines were sold for between RM100 and RM500 each, with some products fetching more than RM500 each,” he was quoted as saying.

The sale of anabolic steroids, commonly used illegally by athletes for performance enhancement, is strictly regulated under the Poisons Act.