UK: Indian-origin Pharmacist sentenced to 18 months for supplying illegal drugs

A 67-year-old Indian-origin pharmacist in the UK has been charged and sentenced to 18 months in prison for supplying illicit under-the-counter drugs to a drug addict that ultimately led to her demise.

The London-based pharmacist, 67-year-old Dushyant Patel, had over 40 years of experience as a pharmacist and was charged by a UK court with supplying Class C drugs, or drugs that are illegal under UK law to possess, supply or prescribe, to a drug addict back in 2020.

A woman identified as Alisha Siddiqi was found dead at a property in Norwich, eastern England, back in August of 2020. While the initial post-mortem of the deceased remained inconclusive, a toxicology report revealed that Siddiqi died of a drug overdose of Class C prescription drugs, according to local media reports.

Patel was found guilty of supplying the deceased with prescription medication after her phone was examined and frequent chats between Siddiqi and Patel between January and August 2020 were revealed.

After being found guilty of two charges of two counts of being concerned in supplying a controlled drug of Class C, Patel was sentenced by the Norwich Crown Court.