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Exclusive: The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is seeking a meeting with Google after an investigation revealed drug dealers in London were passing themselves off as pharmacies on Google Maps and trying to sell cocaine, ketamine, cannabis, counterfeit banknotes and even guns.

The investigation by London Centric this month found dealers were registering themselves as ‘pharmacy’ on Google Maps and advertising their phone number or web address to try and entice people to them.

The investigation also found dealers tried to trick people to go to a particular location by claiming they were real bricks-and-mortar pharmacies. The dealers used artificial intelligence to create photos of fake shopfronts.

One woman told London Centric she received “various offers of MDMA delivery” when she tried to find a late-night pharmacy selling deworming medicine for her child.

London Centric also said it was offered the chance to buy a gun when searching on Google Maps for a pharmacy in Soho.

Google said it removed one advert under the name ‘Weed Pharmacy’ that advertised “weed, coke, meth, ketamine, LSD,” among other drugs, as well as “loaded clone cards and glocks”. Google said it encourages people to report inappropriate content.

In a report published this month laying out measures to combat fake online pharmacies and unregulated medicines, the GPhC urged search engines such as Google and Bing to demote or remove offending websites, prioritise UK-registered pharmacies in search results and display warnings about websites that have been reported by regulators.

Google Maps referencing ‘pharmacy’ for criminals selling drugs 

The GPhC chief executive Kathie Cashell told Independent Community Pharmacist she was “extremely concerned to hear that Google is allowing listings on Google Maps referencing ‘pharmacy’ for criminals illegally selling drugs and medicines”.

“This could potentially put patients and the public at risk of significant harm. ‘Pharmacy’ is a protected title and only pharmacies on our register are allowed to use that title in Great Britain,” she said.

“We are already seeking a meeting with Google to discuss taking forward the recommendations within our recent report on combating fake online pharmacies and unregulated medicines.”

Cashell called on Google to “only allow listings on Google Maps referencing ‘pharmacy’ in Great Britain if that address is listed for a pharmacy” on the regulator’s register.

When asked if it cross references what is listed as ‘pharmacy’ on Google Maps with the GPhC’s register of pharmacies which is publicly available online, or if it intends to do so, Google did not respond.

Cashell urged the public to check an online pharmacy is on the GPhC register before using it.

“One of the key recommendations in the report is for search engines such as Google and Bing to take action to significantly reduce illegal online sales of medicines,” she said, “by demoting or removing offending websites, prioritising GB-registered pharmacies in search results and displaying warnings about sites reported by regulators.”