Belfast Pharmacist sentenced for unlawful supply of prescription medicines

A 48-year-old Belfast man was today sentenced at Laganside Crown Court for unlawfully supplying controlled prescription medicines co-codamol and fentanyl and for failing to maintain controlled drugs registers.

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Pharmacist and Director of Castlereagh Pharmacy Ltd in East Belfast, Gerard Cullinan, was sentenced overall to 11 months imprisonment suspended for 3 years. Castlereagh Pharmacy Ltd also received fines totalling £8,000. 

The charges resulted from a Department of Health Medicines Regulatory Group (MRG) investigation which established that the unlawful activities, including the illegal supply of over 300,000 co-codamol tablets, occurred at Cullinan’s Castlereagh Road pharmacy between January 2017 and June 2020.

A significant number of record-keeping breaches in respect of Class A controlled drugs Fentanyl, Tapentadol, Methylphenidate, Morphine and Oxycodone were also identified during the MRG investigation.

Peter Moore, the Medicines Regulatory Group Senior Medicines Enforcement Officer who directed the investigation said: “It is a serious criminal offence to sell or supply prescription only medicines without a prescription. Today’s sentence demonstrates that there are serious consequences if a person bypasses the regulated system which is in place to ensure public safety and the integrity of the medicines supply chain. Patients and the public however can have confidence that we will take decisive action where there has been significant breaches of medicines and drugs legislation.”

Canice Ward, Head of the Medicines Regulatory Group, added: “The Department is committed to taking all possible steps to combat this type of illegal activity wherever it may be occurring. This conviction involved the blatant abuse of the privileged position of a pharmacist by diverting a large quantity of prescription medicines, thereby placing the public at risk. People can be assured 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.”

Following today’s conviction, the matter will now be further referred to the Pharmaceutical Society of Northern Ireland, the regulatory and professional body for pharmacists in Northern Ireland.

Notes to editors: 

1. Concerns or suspicions about the unlawful use of medicines can be reported to DoH Medicines Regulatory Group at MRGCaseReferrals@health-ni.gov.uk
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