London pharmacist jailed for 18 months for supplying illegal drugs

An Indian-origin pharmacist who supplied a drug addict with illegal under-the-counter drugs has been sentenced to 18 months imprisonment by a court in the UK.

Dushyant Patel, 67, a London pharmacist with more than 40 years experience, had supplied Class C drugs, or drugs that are illegal under UK law to possess, supply or prescribe, to a drug user for months in 2020, according to a court report by ‘Norwich Evening News’.

Local police identified Patel as a suspect four months after the death in Norwich, eastern England, of Alisha Siddiqi, whose body was found at a property in the city in August 2020.

According to the local media report, an initial post-mortem examination on Siddiqi was inconclusive, but toxicology results were to show she died from an overdose of prescription medication.

Her phone was analysed and showed frequent communication with Patel between January and August 2020.

Patel was jailed at Norwich Crown Court earlier this month after a trial when he was found guilty of two counts of being concerned in supplying a controlled drug of Class C to another between March and August 2020.

Sentencing him to 18 months in custody, judge Alice Robinson said it had been a "very serious breach of trust" by the pharmacist.

There was also communication regarding transactions relating to the sale of prescription drugs including Class C drugs, without a prescription, namely Zolpidem and Zopiclone.

The court was told that Patel had not been charged with any offences in relation to her death, only with the supply of illegal drugs.

He and his wife ran a pharmacy in east London, which the trial heard was the "backdrop" to the offences as he supplied drugs "under the counter" to Siddiqi over the course of a few months.

The prosecution said he was receiving money in exchange.

(PTI)