Manchester drugs factory where brothers used machines for fake pills

Inside a drugs factory: Secret unit where brothers used cement mixer, machines from China and chemicals to make fake pills for bodybuilders

• Daniel and Matthew Hackland, of Manchester,  jailed after selling illicit drugs
• Some of the drugs were illegally imported, others were homemade 
• The business was finally exposed after one of the brothers’ customers collapsed 
• Officers found almost 170,000 pills, said to be worth more than £171,000, at the unit as well as nearly 2,000 bottles of injectable liquids

These shocking images show how two brothers made drugs – including substances made in a cement mixer – for bodybuilders at their fake pill factory.

Daniel and Matthew Hackland, of Wythenshawe, Manchester, lived the high life from running the sophisticated operation – boasting £17,000 watches and cars worth £60,000.

The siblings sold unauthorised substances to customers across the country under the ‘D-Hacks’ brand.

These shocking images show how two brothers made drugs – including substances made in a cement mixer (pictured) – for bodybuilders at their fake pill factory

Daniel (left) and Matthew Hackland (right) of Wythenshawe, Manchester, lived the high life from running the sophisticated operation – boasting £17,000 watches and cars worth £60,000

Pictures from inside their fake pill factory in Northenden, Manchester show the incredible lengths the brothers went to in order to make their business a success.

Images taken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) show a makeshift laboratory filled with test tubes, beakers, tubs, sterliser units, a cement mixer and piles of cash.

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Plastic boxes containing hundreds of bottles of tablets can be seen neatly stacked up and labelled in the lab, which is covered in white powder.

The brothers even went to the trouble of importing a pill press machine and hot plates from China.

Images taken by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) show a makeshift laboratory filled with test tubes, beakers, tubs, sterliser units, a cement mixer and piles of cash

Plastic boxes containing hundreds of bottles of tablets can be seen neatly stacked up and labelled in the lab, which is covered in white powder

Officers found almost 170,000 pills, worth more than £171,000, at the unit as well as nearly 2,000 bottles of injectable liquids.

The siblings – who drove cars worth £60,000 and wore watches worth £17,000 – sold unauthorised substances to customers across the country. Some of the supplements, steroids and other drugs such as Viagra were illegally imported, while others were homemade.

Yesterday at Manchester Crown Court Daniel was jailed for four-and-a-half years, while his brother Matthew was imprisoned for three years after pleading guilty to supplying class C drugs. 

The D-Hacks firm produced and supplied unlicensed or homemade pharmaceutical products online – primarily steroids for bodybuilders but also trafficking Viagra and Cialis for treatment of erectile dysfunction.

Officers found almost 170,000 pills, worth more than £171,000, at the unit as well as nearly 2,000 bottles of injectable liquids

The brothers even went to the trouble of importing a pill press machine and hot plates from China

The pair further distributed drugs for severe acne and supplied another called Tamoxifen which is used to treat breast cancer but can also counteract the side effects of steroid abuse.

Investigators began a two year probe in March 2013 after an unnamed bodybuilder from South Wales collapsed after taking a D-Hack product called DNP which sold at £45 for a pack of 48 pills.

The drug had previously been marketed by another website unconnected to Hackland as a slimming aid and led to the death of a student in Leeds in 2012. 

The brothers, and Daniel’s wife Jenna, 29, are said to have benefited to the tune of £500,000 from the set-up, which included using hot plates and a pill press machine imported from China.

The siblings- who drove cars worth £60,000 and wore watches worth £17,000 – sold unauthorised substances to customers across the country. Some of the supplements, steroids and other drugs such as Viagra were illegally imported, while others were homemade

The siblings sold unauthorised substances to customers across the country under the ‘D-Hacks’ brand

The siblings, and mother-of-two Jenna, used a variety of accounts to launder the proceeds of their crime. 

Robin Shellard, prosecuting, told the court Daniel was responsible for production and that both brothers ran the supply operation from their homes and a rented office unit. 

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and the police carried out raids at Daniel and Jenna’s home in Baguley and at Matthew’s former house in Heald Green, Stockport.

The brothers’ parents house in Wythenshawe was also searched.

Almost 9,000 tablets, six bottles of liquid for injections, £49,000 in cash as well as 1,500 Euros and 2,000 US dollars hidden in a safe were discovered in the loft at Daniel’s home.

Around 900 syringes were found on a kitchen counter. High-value watches, including a Rolex, and a Louis Vuitton bag were also discovered.

And two new luxury cars, a Nissan GTR and an Audi RS3, were parked on the driveway. More than 375,000 tablets said to be worth £135,000 as well as ‘D-Hacks’ labels were found at Matthew’s property.

A chemical lab was discovered during a raid on Hackland’s rented office at the Kingsley Trading Centre in Northernden. 

One room contained the cement mixer plus an electric pill press, sterilizer units, a work bench with three hotplates and various trays of empty vials waiting to be filled. 

Richard Simons, defending Daniel (pictured with his wife), said he had agreed to supply friends and associates at first, but the operation grew. He continued to trade even after his arrest

Daniel and Matthew Hackland (pictured) lived the high life from running the sophisticated operation – boasting £17,000 watches and cars worth £60,000

Almost 170,000 pills – said to be worth more than £171,000 – were discovered, as well as nearly 2,000 bottles of liquids.

Analysis of Daniel’s phone revealed suppliers in US and China, the court heard.

Richard Simons, defending Daniel, said he had agreed to supply friends and associates at first, but the operation grew. He continued to trade even after his arrest.

When Daniel was detained, he told officers: ‘I knew this was going to happen eventually.’

Mr Simons told the court: ‘The defendant has specifically asked me to advance his regret, apologies and remorse. I would urge you to accept that is genuinely given.’

Lee Hughes, defending Matthew, admitted his client, a former steroid user, had played a significant role, but stressed his responsibilities were limited to ‘packing and dispatching’.

The judge, Recorder Ciaran Rankin, said: ‘One of your clients became seriously ill. After some considerable period of time you were arrested. House searches followed and from that matters began to unravel.

‘It showed a sophisticated, large-scale operation which was obviously generating large sums of money. You were all enjoying the fruits of that operation.’

Daniel, who admitted producing a controlled drug, was jailed for four-and-a-half years, while Matthew, 31, was imprisoned for three years.  

Lee Hughes, defending Matthew (pictured), admitted his client, a former steroid user, had played a significant role, but stressed his responsibilities were limited to ‘packing and dispatching’

The pair pleaded guilty to possessing prescription-only medication with intent to supply; possessing unauthorised medicinal products with intent to supply; possessing class C drugs with intent to supply and money laundering.

Jenna Hackland who worked for a Lloyds bank pleaded guilty to money laundering and was given 18 months jail suspended for two years and was ordered to complete 100 hours unpaid work. 

As the three went sentenced Jenna kissed Daniel as she left the dock.

Alastair Jeffrey, MHRA Head of Enforcement, said after the hearing: ‘This is an example of how criminals are willing to put the health of others at risk to make money. Selling medicines outside of the regulated supply chain is a serious criminal offence and we continue to work with other regulatory and law enforcement colleagues to identify and prosecute those involved in this type of activity.

‘If you purchase medicines outside of the regulated supply chain you may well be buying products that have been made and stored in unsanitary conditions and which could cause significant harm.’ 

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