Google MapsA senior pharmacy worker who ran a two-year drug racket at the chemist where she was employed has been jailed for 15 months.
Ann Marie Doyle was caught after a workmate found boxes of tablets she had stashed in her handbag.
The 44-year-old had been selling pills at the Tollcross Pharmacy in Glasgow’s East End that she had been trusted to handle as a drug dispenser.
It emerged almost 25,000 Valium and prescription painkillers were unaccounted for.
A check of Doyle’s phone revealed 31 users looking to source drugs from her – including heroin.
It landed Doyle in the dock at Glasgow Sheriff Court.
Doyle pleaded guilty to a total of nine charges of stealing as well as being concerned in the supply of controlled drugs between February 2019 and December 2020.
Sheriff Owen Mullan said: “You were in a position of trust and you will no doubt have seen the dangers and effects of drug abuse.
“There was evidence of 31 different contacts in your mobile with messages saying that you actively supplied drugs.
“I don’t consider there to be any other method of dealing with you other than custody.”
Fiscal Lauren Sangray explained how Doyle, of Coatbridge, Lanarkshire, was caught after a colleague went to a communal staffing area.
The senior dispenser’s handbag was sitting on a chair.
Ms Sangray said: “Inside, there were ten boxes of diazepam each containing 28 tablets.
“The diazepam were wrapped in cellophane which is how they are received from the supplier.”
The workmate later reported the find to their boss.
A probe was sparked and Doyle initially denied any involvement.
A pill audit was carried out which revealed 12,333 diazepam tablets and 12,357 dihydrocodeine painkillers in various doses were missing.
Three mobile phones were then found during a search of Doyle’s home.
She told officers: “I do not know what to say to you. I know myself, but I did not do it.”
A forensic examination of one phone disclosed the 31 contacts asking for drugs.
These included diazepam, dihydrocodeine, temazepam, morphine, diamorphine, fentanyl, pregabalin and tramadol.
It was stated that due to the “absence of a legitimate explanation, this shows the onward sale of drugs.”
No total value of the narcotics dealt was revealed during the hearing.
The sentencing was told how Doyle claimed that she swapped the pills with her drugs supplier for the cocaine which she used at the time.
However, the sheriff stated that the messages found on her phone “failed in the explanation” of that.
Edward Kelly, defending, said: “She knows the custodial threshold has been passed and understands that this was a significant breach of trust.
“She had significant addiction issues.
“She would like to compensate the pharmacy for their loss and she has managed to save money to do that.”
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