Manchester men sentenced after sale and supply of illegal POM stash
Three men have been sentenced in Manchester after pleading guilty to the illegal sale and supply of £1.5m worth of prescription-only medicines (POMs) and class B and C drugs, the medicines watchdog has announced.
Denis Sutherland, 58, of Glendon Crescent, Ashton-under-Lyne, was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of money laundering, supplying class B and C medicines and selling prescription medicines, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said on Friday (December 8).
Read more: Double trouble: Repeat pharmacy burglar jailed for a year
His brother, David Sutherland, 59, of Church Street, Ainsworth, as well as Cleave Lewis, 35, of Corporation Street, Manchester, were each sentenced to a year in jail, suspended for two years, plus 200 hours of community service. They faced the same charges as Denis Sutherland.
They were found in possession of nearly 1.3m tablets of POMs were seized by the officers from the MHRA and Greater Manchester Police in a raid on their residential homes and business premises, in October 2017.
Read more: Illegally traded drugs worth ‘almost’ £5m seized in 2023, says MHRA
The three men were sentenced at Manchester Crown Court last Thursday (December 7).
All three pleaded guilty at Manchester Crown Court on November 30, 2021 to illegally making the medicines available to buy without a prescription on three different unnamed websites, the MHRA said.
“No regard for safety”
The drugs seized included “powerful sleeping pills, painkillers and anti-anxiety meds” including zopiclone, diazepam, and lorazepam, the MHRA said.
Authorities also found over half a million “erectile dysfunction, slimming and herbal tablets” in the men’s possession, which the watchdog noted had an “estimated value of approximately £500,000”.
MHRA deputy director of criminal enforcement Andy Morling said that people who engage in the illegal sale of prescription drugs “have no regard for your safety”.
Read more: Suspended sentence for illegal POM dealers found with 1.3m pills
“These are powerful medicines that can lead to serious adverse health consequences if taken without appropriate medical supervision,” Mr Morling said.
He added that MHRA’s criminal enforcement unit will continue their efforts to protect the public by “disrupting this harmful trade” and “bringing dangerous offenders to justice”.
Late last month (29 November), the MHRA carried out a series of raids, resulting in “hundreds of thousands of doses” of illicit medicines being seized.
