Large amounts of toxic chemical used as slimming aid seized in raids

  • DNP
  • Health
The NHS says consuming DNP accelerates the metabolism to a dangerously fast level Credit: NHS Choices

A man has been arrested on suspicion of supplying the industrial chemical known as DNP as a slimming aid.

Large amounts of the highly toxic chemical were seized during two raids in London carried out on Wednesday morning.

A “significant amount” of an industrial chemical, thought to be DNP, was discovered at a property in Harrow, where a 28-year-old man was arrested.

A home in Ealing was also searched at the same time during the four-hour raids carried out by the Food Standards Agency, the Metropolitan Police, and Ealing and Harrow Borough Councils.

DNP, or Dinitrophenol, has been linked to a number of deaths after being used as a fat-burning diet supplement.

It is illegal to sell the substance for human consumption, but it continues to be sold as a slimming aid in capsules and powders.

Eloise Parry died in April after taking DNP slimming pills Credit: West Mercia Police

The FSA said last year it was responsible for five deaths, including Eloise Parry from Shrewsbury, who died in April within hours of taking eight DNP pills which she had bought online.

The FSA began an investigation into DNP sales after her death, and several websites identified as selling it as a slimming aid were shut down.