Jailed: Pharmacist diverted £1 million of controlled drugs onto black markets
A pharmacist who diverted more than £1 million of prescription drugs onto the black market has been jailed for 12 months.
Balkeet Singh Khaira, 37, sold around 29,000 packets of Class C controlled drugs to drug dealers while working at his mother's shop, called Khaira Pharmacy, in West Bromwich.
Khaira, of of All Saints Drive, Sutton Coldfield, made a personal profit of almost £60,000.
He was arrested following an investigation by the pharmaceutical watchdog which had been tipped off about Khaira's activities.
During the probe, Khaira pretended to be his mother when emailing investigators and also falsified documentation, Birmingham Crown Court was told.
Following the investigation, his innocent mother was also arrested, had her house searched and pharmaceutical licence suspended - despite her having no involvement in his criminal activity.
As a result of his actions, Khaira's mother has had her reputation "tarnished" and his family have "turned their backs on him", said his defence counsel Ekwall Tiwana.
Mr Tiwana said Khaira had been pressured into supplying drug dealers who had made threats against the defendant and his family.
The offending took place place between February 2016 and August 2017.
It began with supplying a member of the public outside the gym he used and escalated from there.
Qualified
Khaira qualified as a pharmacist in 2008 and had been working at the family business for a number of years during the time of offending.
There were plans for him to take over the pharmacy but he has now lost his job.
At an earlier court hearing Khaira pleaded guilty to five counts supplying a controlled drug of Class C.
The drugs in question which he supplied were diazepam, nitrazepam, tramadol, zolpidem and zopiclone.
It was estimated all the drugs he diverted were worth £1,052,266 on the streets.
The probe was carried out by the General Pharmaceutical Council and later the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Khaira's criminal activity was unravelled after investigators found he had sold only a small amount of drugs bought from wholesalers. Many of the packets had gone unaccounted for.
Prosecuting, Mr Simon Hunker QC, said Khaira bought 30,205 packets from wholesalers but there was a "difference" of 29,000 in the prescription figures.
He said it was estimated that Khaira diverted around 1,600 packets a month onto the black market.
In police interview, Khaira initially denied to comment but later made admissions about his activity.
In mitigation at his sentencing, the court heard Khaira was now studying to become a quantity surveyor and has been helping out at Covid test centres during the pandemic.
Sentencing him at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Heidi Kubik QC said: "These are serious offences. You were employed as a pharmacist at your mother's family business for a period of 18 months.
Suffered
"You allowed five different types of addictive Class C drugs to be diverted onto the black market, some 29,000 packets with a potential street value of £1,052,000.
"The firm was run by your mother for many years. Your actions caused her to be arrested when she had done nothing wrong and her business and reputation suffered greatly as a result of your actions.
"When the investigation started in June 2017, you pretended to be your mother in email correspondence trying to make the investigation go away.
"[You] provided false information and figures to try and stop the investigation in its tracks.
"When you were arrested on February 18, you did make admissions in interview. You pleaded guilty at the plea and trial preparation hearing.
"You were a man of good character who had worked hard, a professional man with no previous convictions."
But she added: "These offences are so serious that appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody.
"I will allow you full credit for your guilty plea. Your sentence is to be one of 12 months.
"You can expect to serve half of that in custody and be on licence for 12 months following your release."
The judge said Khaira would serve a concurrent sentence for all the offences.
Following the sentencing, Grant Powell, who was the MHRA enforcement officer leading the case, said: "It is a serious criminal offence to sell controlled, unlicensed or prescription-only medicines in this way.
"Anyone who sells medicines illegally could be exploiting vulnerable people and clearly has no regard for their health or welfare. Prescription-only medicines are potent and should only be taken under medical supervision.
"We work closely with regulatory and law enforcement partners to identify and prosecute those involved.
"If you think you have been offered a medicine illegally, or have any information about suspected or known illegal trading in medicines, please contact the MHRA."
