A pharmacist in New Zealand was found guilty of secretly ordering and stealing extra medicines from a pharmacy, where he had been working and selling it on Trade Me and made $126,076 over four years.

The pharmacist is identified as Jayanth Patel, a 38-year-old Indian-origin pharmacist in New Zealand. He had been found guilty by the Health Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal of two charges of professional misconduct, bringing discredit to his profession.

Jayant Patel was convicted of theft by a person in a special relationship for selling stolen medication including pharmacy-only medication on Trade Me (New Zealand’s online auction and classifieds website) between January 2016 and April 2020.

Based on an agreed summary of facts submitted to the tribunal on February 19, Patel had been working at the pharmacy for four years, from where he started ordering extra stock and stashing it in his bedroom and the boot of his car.

He concealed every theft by altering each transaction to avoid registering the extra inventory at the pharmacy. Patel through two Trade Me accounts sold medicines including pharmacy-only allergy relief, anti-fungal medicines, iron supplements, antiseptic cream, laxatives, reflux medicine, eye drops, smoking cessation gum, lozenges, and patches.

Patel encountered charges for making 2000 online sales through 6000 listings which also includes various other general products like dietary supplements, menopause support, makeup, and skin care. The tribunal heard that Patel was listing and selling products online up to twice a week.

By the end of April 2020, the owner of the pharmacy caught extra Habitrol Lozenges (these are used to aid smokers quit and must be sold from a licensed pharmacy) on the premises. He checked the CCTV footage and found that Patel was responsible for ordering and obscuring the medications, which led to an employment investigation. On April 2, 2020, a private investigator faced Patel. When the tribunal heard Patel conceded the thefts, showed the investigator medication he had in his car and at home, and paid back $100,000.

The owner of the pharmacy lodged a complaint with the Pharmacy Council. In May 2020, Patel submitted his practicing certificate while the council directed the complaint to a professional committee; he was later suspended.

The pharmacy owner also complained to the officer who probed and charged Patel. In May last year, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced in the district court by a representative charge of theft by a person in a special relationship. In August, he was sentenced to six months community detention.

On February 19, Patel through Defense Counsel Ian Brookie disputed three of the 68 types of medication, the PCC asserted Patel stole because they weren't sold at the pharmacy, and the PCC accepted two weren't.

Patel also argued that there were 32 items sold that were given to him by family members and sales representatives, including Voltaren Emulgel and multivitamins. The counsel for the PCC, Gillin Weir said that this was doubtful, and Patel had not submitted any evidence to ascertain the claim. He also said that there were still 66 medicines stolen from the pharmacy, including diabetic strips which are sold directly to another pharmacist. That was accomplished 11 times when Patel sold 100 strips at a time for $1005 each time.

The Counsel for the PCC said that the public was allowed to foresee that Patel would not abuse his privileged position to access pharmacy products for his personal gain. Brookie said that Patel made admissions that formed the basis of the PCC case against him when he was unrepresented by a lawyer. He also expressed that Patel did not concede to delinquency or malpractice and contended that only a small percentage of the stolen medication was pharmacy-only.

The tribunal said that in part one of the charges, Patel abused his position as a registered pharmacist by selling or supplying stolen pharmacy products in at least 2000 circumstances, was not ascertained. Nevertheless, the tribunal said that his behavior warranted disciplinary action, and a penalty hearing would be carried out next week.

 (Input from various sources)

 (Rehash/Lavanya Beeraboina/MSM)