British Men Sentenced for Illegal Online Sale of Pharmaceuticals
Clemsford Crown Court sentenced two men who pleaded guilty to advertising and selling prescription only medicines on websites.
The two Essex residents, Steven Corbersmith, 35, from Frinton-on-Sea, and Stefa Hazell, 28, from Kirby-le-Soken. ran two websites that illegally sold prescription only medications clomiphene citrate, used for fertility enhancement, and anabolic steroids, reported the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
Selling an estimated £500,000 of medication, Corbersmith advertised and sold from the website of a gym he owned in Walton-on-the-Naze. Hazell sold £11,000 of medications illegally from sssupplements.com.
Corbersmith received 12 months imprisonment suspended for two years and previously pleaded guilty to issuing advertisements for prescription only medicines, possession with intent to supply Class C drugs, being concerned in the supply of Class C drugs, and the retail sale of prescription only medicines.
Hazell was sentenced to six months imprisonment suspended for two years and pleaded guilty to attempting to supply a controlled drug of Class C and a prescription only medicine, and issuing advertisements for prescription only medicines on his website.
Warned Nimo Ahead, Acting Head of Enforcement for MHRA, “Cases like this show the lengths criminals will go for financial gain. These individuals showed blatant disregard for public health. The danger of purchasing medicines online is that you just don’t know what you are taking. The dosages could be either too high or too low.”