Three jailed after nabbing almost £1,000,000 worth of weight loss drugs

Three men have been jailed after almost £1million of weight loss drugs – including 79 boxes of Mounjaro – were stolen from a healthcare center.

Mark Harding, 55, and Peter Costello, 44, forced entry and blacked out internal cameras at the distribution center in St Albans, Hertfordshire, on January 24.

The pair were caught on CCTV stealing several boxes of the weight loss drug from a refrigerated storage unit shortly before 6.40pm.

They stole more than 70 further boxes less than two hours later with accomplice Robert Townsend, 59, in tow.

The total value of the haul was £944,544.89.

The suspects were eventually identified through phone records, CCTV footage and automatic number plate recognition cameras (ANPR).

More than £60,000 in cash was discovered hidden in picnic baskets and extractor fans when they were arrested on February 11.

Townsend, of Carshalton in London, pleaded guilty on April 30 at St Albans Crown Court to burglary and possessing criminal property.

Costello, of Sutton in London, and Harding, of Feltham in London, pleaded guilty to burglary.

The judge sentenced all three men to five years and three months in prison for burglary at St Albans Crown Court.

Harding and Townsend were handed an additional nine-month prison sentence, to be served concurrently, for possessing criminal property.

Detective Sergeant Will Daglish said: ‘I am pleased that Townsend, Costello and Harding pleaded guilty in court and admitted these large-scale offenses.

‘This was a very serious crime – weight loss drugs must be stored correctly and are dangerous if they are not administered in the right way. By breaking into the fridges storing the Mounjaro drug, their actions posed a serious health risk to the public.

‘This was evidently a pre-planned and calculated burglary, and they will now serve several years behind bars.’

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