Pharmaceutical wholesale worker from Milton Keynes slammed by judge for pretending drugs theft was for ‘noble reasons’ to help people in lockdown

A pharmaceutical wholesale worker from Milton Keynes has been jailed for stealing prescription drugs - including Class A - from his employers, to sell directly to users.

Robert Fisher initially told a judge the stealing had only taken place during lockdown.

However, police examined his mobile phone and discovered he had been selling the stolen drugs for three years before the pandemic and he was arrested.

Fisher, from Bradwell Road, New Bradwell admitted five counts of theft by employee, being concerned in the supply and offer of class A drugs and sale and supply of prescription-only medicine.

Mr Recorder Law sentenced the 30-year-old to three years and four months imprisonment.

The judge heard that Fisher was confronted by his employer at Mawdsley Brooks pharmaceutical wholesaler after a colleague noticed that bottles of arsenic trioxide were missing from their container and had been replaced by a cushion.

Other stolen medication included class A drugs, which are treated as the most dangerous kind - like morphine - with effects similar to that of heroin.

Fisher subsequently handed himself in to police.

Joel Smith, prosecuting at Aylesbury Crown Court, said: "Mr Fisher says he fell into selling drugs during the pandemic after friends and family could not access medication."

However, after police examined Fisher's mobile phone, it emerged he had been stealing drugs and distributing them directly to users for three years before the pandemic in 2017. The offending happened over a period of four years from 2017 to 2021, when Fisher surrendered voluntarily to the police.

Mr Recorder Law, sentencing, told the defendant: "You clearly carried out these offences for profit - not for some noble cause.

"These drugs should be prescribed by a qualified person, not distributed on the streets for money. They could cause great harm to people who use them.

"In respect to the supply of class A drugs, you clearly had a significant role as an employee at Mawdsley Brooks and must have had some awareness of what you were doing. You also offended over a sustained period of time," he added.