{"id":19600,"date":"2026-01-10T15:38:52","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T15:38:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/crypto-scammer-caught-up-in-record-breaking-drug-seizure\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T15:38:56","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T15:38:56","slug":"crypto-scammer-caught-up-in-record-breaking-drug-seizure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/crypto-scammer-caught-up-in-record-breaking-drug-seizure\/","title":{"rendered":"Crypto scammer caught up in record-breaking drug seizure"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div class=\"post-detail__content blocks\">\n<p class=\"is-style-lead\">Fasial Tariq, co-founder of Paradox Metaverse dubbed a \u201cPonzi\u201d by crypto investigator Coffeezilla, has been linked to what UK authorities call the world\u2019s largest seizure of illegal weight-loss drugs.<\/p>\n<div id=\"cn-block-summary-block_163cd7239eb608474d0fd400a239f37d\" class=\"cn-block-summary\">\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__nav tabs\">\n        <span class=\"tabs__item is-selected\">Summary<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"cn-block-summary__content\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>UK authorities seized \u00a3250K in illegal weight-loss drugs linked to a crypto gaming founder.<\/li>\n<li>Fasial Tariq was tied to companies operating from the raided Northampton facility.<\/li>\n<li>Coffeezilla previously labeled Paradox Metaverse a Ponzi after investigating the project.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- .cn-block-summary --><\/p>\n<p>The Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency raided an industrial estate unit in Northampton.<\/p>\n<p>They seized retatrutide (nicknamed the \u201cGodzilla\u201d of weight loss jabs) along with \u00a320,000 ($27,000) in cash, raw chemical ingredients, and manufacturing equipment.<\/p>\n<p>The street value of seized drugs reached \u00a3250,000 ($335,000). Paradox Metaverse, founded by brothers Amio Talio and Fasial Tariq.<\/p>\n<p>They also secured a livestream with IShowSpeed, a streamer with over 43 million followers, before Coffeezilla exposed the project as a scam.<\/p>\n<p>An investigation by UK newspaper the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/science\/2026\/jan\/08\/alluvi-weight-loss-drug-operation-raided-northampton\">Guardian<\/a> traced connections between the raided facility and Tariq\u2019s crypto ventures.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Company records tie Tariq to raided facility<\/h2>\n<p>The Guardian discovered Tariq served as company director of Wholesale Supplements Limited, the firm registered to the raided industrial unit.<\/p>\n<p>Investigators found customer orders for weight loss jabs were processed through Ecommerce Nutri Collectiv, which shared an address with another firm listing Tariq\u2019s name: Vantage Commercials Group Limited.<\/p>\n<p>A link at the bottom of Ecommerce Nutri Collectiv\u2019s website redirected visitors to Paradox Labs, a site previously archived as Paradox Studios, the development studio behind Paradox Metaverse. The web trail connected the illegal drug operation directly to Tariq\u2019s crypto gaming project.<\/p>\n<p>Locals reported that multiple high-end vehicles would frequently park outside the industrial unit. The Guardian noted this may link to Onyx, the Northampton luxury car rental company that Tariq and his brother operated.<\/p>\n<p>One source claiming inside knowledge of the weight loss drug trade told investigators the products are manufactured cheaply with minimal safeguarding for cleanliness and dose measurements. The illegal operation remains active on Telegram despite last year\u2019s seizure.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- .cn-block-related-link --><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Paradox Metaverse called \u201cPonzi\u201d by investigators<\/h2>\n<p>Coffeezilla interviewed the Paradox Metaverse orchestrators and concluded the project operated as a Ponzi scheme. The crypto investigator labeled the brothers \u201cscammers\u201d after examining the project\u2019s structure and promises.<\/p>\n<p>Paradox Metaverse marketed itself as a crypto-based game but faced accusations of making unsustainable yield promises to investors. The project leveraged IShowSpeed\u2019s massive following to gain credibility before crypto investigators exposed the operation.<\/p>\n<p>No offenses or charges have been filed against Tariq. The MHRA raid focused on seizing illegal pharmaceuticals rather than investigating connections to cryptocurrency projects.<\/p>\n<p>Retatrutide is a newer generation of GLP-1 weight loss medications sold without proper licensing or medical oversight.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Youtuber Accidentally Exposes the Scam He&#039;s Promoting\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cMIgyS34MxA?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Fasial Tariq, co-founder of Paradox Metaverse dubbed a \u201cPonzi\u201d by crypto investigator Coffeezilla, has been linked to what UK authorities call the world\u2019s largest seizure of illegal weight-loss drugs. Summary&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9547,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cryptocurrency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19600","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19600"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19600\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19601,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19600\/revisions\/19601"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/9547"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19600"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19600"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bitunikey.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19600"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}