Pharmacist Adam Hanna received 180 hours community service for “unlawfully possessing the controlled prescription medicines pregabalin and diazepam” and the theft of four controlled drugs, the Northern Irish Department of Health (DH) announced last month (November 19).
Hanna, aged 27, was sentenced at Belfast Magistrates Court following a DH medicines regulatory group (MRG) investigation, it said.
Read more: Ozempic and opioids: Lloydspharmacy worker sentenced for £1.3k POM theft
The investigation found that “unlawful activities occurred at a North Belfast pharmacy where [he] was working between January and March 2024”, it added.
Hanna pleaded guilty to the possession charges and “for theft of pregabalin, diazepam, co-codamol and codeine phosphate”, the DH said.
“Abused his position of trust”
MRG senior medicines enforcement officer Peter Moore said that the “investigation established that a pharmacist working within a community pharmacy abused his position of trust to misappropriate and unlawfully possess controlled drugs from his employer”.
He added that the conviction “sends a clear message that there are consequences for anyone involving themselves in this type of activity, irrespective of their position or occupation”.
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Moore said that the case will “be further referred to the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland (PSNI)”.
MRG head Canice Ward added that “this conviction involved the blatant abuse of the privileged position of a pharmacist”.
“People can be assured however that pharmacies in Northern Ireland are subject to regular departmental inspection and compliance visits to ensure that they continue to operate safely and within the law,” she said.
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In August, a Lloydspharmacy worker who stole Ozempic from the Widnes pharmacy she worked at was given a suspended sentence of 29 weeks in prison.
That month, a Well staff member was also ordered to fulfil a community order after stealing cash over a five-month period.
