A pharmacist who stole medication to send it home to Africa has been allowed to keep his licence.

Sylvester Vinkabb was given a one-year suspension after a tribunal heard he ordered thousands of pills at the pharmacy he worked at and sent them to Sierra Leone.

The pharmacist stole more than 16,000 diazepam and Xanax tablets as well as more than 100 litres of codeine to send to his home country, a tribunal heard.

Mr Vinkabb said he was “blinded by wanting to help people” as he denied the charges presented at a disciplinary hearing – despite admitting he sent the medication home.

A General Pharmaceutical Council (GPC) panel ultimately found the six charges brought against him proved and ordered Mr Vinkabb to be suspended from work for a year.

The panel heard that between May 2022 and February 2023, Mr Vinkabb “ordered and removed” approximately 330 boxes of Xanax and diazepam tablets – totalling more than 16,000 pills – from Evans Pharmacy in Long Eaton, Derbyshire.

He did the same for more than 100 litres of codeine as well as approximately 357 litres of phenergan elixir. He paid for the medication himself but ordered them without permission, it was heard.

The pharmacist was caught after a spreadsheet of discrepancies was presented to the GPC.

‘Opportunistic rather than targeted’

He said he had been sending medicine back to Sierra Leone since 2022, taking medications from patient return bins in the pharmacy.

“This was not in any significant quantities,” he said. “For example, if old paracetamol or ibuprofen came back in their original packs and were unused and untouched, I would take them out of the patient returns bin, remove the labels and put them in a separate box, which was known as the ‘Africa box’ in the branch.”

The box also included other medical products such as dressings, he said.

“This was opportunistic rather than targeted, so if something came in that I thought would be helpful back in the local community in Sierra Leone then I would put it to one side.”

He described how he would buy barrels from a shipping company in Leicester – in which he would stash the supplies as well as old clothes and shoes before sending them to Africa – which would cost up to £70 each.

Mr Vinkabb said the barrels would be sent to his mother’s house and distributed “as appropriate”. He continued: “All go to my home, none are sold here. They all go in the barrel. I pay for it and send it. I am blinded by wanting to help people.”

He told the panel he wanted to “make clear” that none of the missing medicine was ever re-used in the UK and had only sent the medicines as they “were being thrown away”.

The panel found him guilty of all six allegations against him and said he was “plainly aware” he was stealing the medication without permission.

It was heard other staff members were aware of the “Africa box” but did not know where it was being sent and that Mr Vinkabb had taken steps “to avoid detection”.

The pharmacist issued a full apology, despite denying the charges, and admitted he couldn’t be certain he hadn’t put patients at risk as result of his behaviour.

The panel ruled that the dishonesty was not for the financial gain of the pharmacist but rather to help his mother’s home community. It also found there was “no risk” that he would repeat the behaviour but said he had committed a “very serious breach” of standards.

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