Key Summary
- Man jailed for selling £3.7m worth of illegal prescription medicines.
- He was pleaded guilty for several serious charges.
- Fled the UK but was eventually caught, while returning from Brazil.
A 61-year-old man has been sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for the illegal sale of prescription-only medicines with a street value exceeding £3.7 million.
The Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court delivered the sentence after the accused, Mark Robert Witchell, pleaded guilty to the charges.
He has also pleaded guilty to several other charges related to fraud following a police investigation and sentencing on these will occur separately.
Three others were convicted and sentenced in March 2023 with similar offences.
Witchell was caught while trying to re-enter the UK last August in a ferry after a 10-year stay Brazil.
A resident of Staffordshire and Nantwich, Witchell fled Britain in 2011 to evade justice. In an unprecedented step, the criminal enforcement unit of MHRA had sought his extradition to the UK.
The offences related to unlawful supply of drugs took place between August 2013 and December 2015.
The group was involved in the online sale of Class B controlled drug codeine, and Class C controlled drugs alprazolam, diazepam, tramadol, zolpidem and zopiclone across the world.
They also sold prescription-only medicines, including Cialis and Levitra tablets, without a valid prescription, and supplied a range of unauthorised medicinal products including Kamagra, Apcalis, Aurogra and others.
The investigators were actively searching for him in Spain, Brazil and Mauritius, after knowing about his international crime rackets in stolen sports car parts and illegal medicines, reported the Cheshire Live.
“This case involved the large-scale illegal supply of powerful controlled drugs and unauthorised medicines, putting the public at serious risk of harm,” commented Andy Morling, head of the MHRA CEU.
Crown Protection Service specialist prosecutor Ben Reid said, “Witchell showed complete disregard for the vulnerable individuals who purchased from his websites and the dangers of the drugs he supplied, which were prescription medicines with side effects and high potential for addiction.
“Indeed, relatives of victims described the devastating effects of addiction to drugs such as zopiclone on their loved one’s health and mental wellbeing.”
