An Ilford pharmacist who stole almost £5,000 worth of prescription drugs from pharmacies in Havering and Dagenham, which he then sold on the street, has been jailed.

Niren Patel, of De Vere Gardens, Ilford, appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday, 10 May, and pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of a position of trust, possession with intent to supply a Class B drug and five counts of possession to supply a Class C drug.

The 38-year-old was sentenced on Friday to a total of 12 months’ imprisonment for his Breaking Bad style crime spree, which took place from January 2015 until June last year while he was working at two different pharmacies.

An officer in the Met’s Controlled Drug Liaison team began an investigation in August after Patel’s employer, Day Lewis Pharmacy in Park Lane, Hornchurch, made a report of theft to the police.

The investigation’s analysis of stock records and drugs purchased by Patel, who also worked at Hedgemans Pharmacy in Dagenham, revealed he had been creating fraudulent orders for almost £5,000 worth of prescription medicine and claiming the drugs himself.

The thefts only came to light after the pharmacies’ order systems were changed to be more predominantly carried out online – the orders placed by Patel were all done using the old system over a mobile phone.

In his police interview, Patel admitted he had gone on to sell the drugs, including Genotropin, a growth hormone most commonly used by bodybuilders, to a member of the public on the street.

Other drugs sold by Patel included the Class B drug Dexamfetamine, which is used for weight loss and to improve academic performance, and Class C drugs such as Xanax, Zolpidem and Diazepam, which are sedatives used as ‘downers’.

Patel was formally charged with the offences on March 27.

Det Con Beverley McInerney, of the Met’s Organised Crime Command, said: “Patel abused his position as a pharmacist by creating fraudulent orders for prescription drugs and then sold them on the street.

“The drugs he sold are highly addictive and dangerous when given to someone without a prescription.”