Two Dublin women, who imported thousands of banned and dangerous slimming tablets which they were unlawfully selling through several popular Irish websites, are to be sentenced in March.
Yesterday 33-year-old Sharon Edwards and Tara McEvoy (40), who have addresses at Donomore Avenue, Tallaght, pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court to breaking medicinal products regulations.
The women are to be sentenced in March after they were successfully prosecuted by the Irish Medicines Board (IMB).
Judge John O’Neill heard they imported what they believed were “100 per cent herbal” remedies called Lida and Botanical Soft Gel Capsules which were bought on the internet and turned out to contain a controversial drug called Sibutramine which has been withdrawn from markets across the world due to health risk fears.
Brenda Kirby, an enforcement officer with the IMB, told prosecuting counsel Ronan Kennedy that the investigation began in August 2010 when ads for certain products were placed on the Gumtree website.
On March 9th, 2011, Customs officers at the An Post mail centre in Portlaoise detained a parcel which had come from China and was addressed to McEvoy. It contained 1980 “Botanical Soft Gel Capsules”.
Ms Kirby visited McEvoy's home in Tallaght and she told the officer that she also had 360 "Lida" slimming capsules.
Healthcare professional
They were not healthcare professional and admitted that for the previous 1½ years they had been selling the products which they believed were "100 per cent herbal", at first to friends and later to other people via the Gumtree, Donedeal and Rollercoaster websites.
The medicines board officer was provided with her laptop and other documentation and became aware that McEvoy’s friend Edwards was also involved in the business.
Defence barristers Suzanne Gunn and Jennifer Morgan told the court that the two women had been using the products themselves and were happy with the result and then began buying them in bulk online to sell to others.
The court heard that between them they earned about €12,000, with much of the money being used to buy more stock. One defence lawyer described the enterprise as a “kitchen table affair”.
The labels on the capsule containers did not mention that the products contained active ingredient Sibutramine, the judge was also told.
The IMB enforcement officer said the active ingredient has been withdrawn from markets in the US as well as in EU countries, including Ireland.
Judge O’Neill heard that this was as a result of findings that Sibutramine’s “risks outweighed the benefits” and could result in a range of harmful side effects including strokes, flu-like symptoms and cardiovascular problems.
Lawyers for the two women asked the judge to take into consideration that they did not know the products they sold contained the potentially dangerous ingredient and that they had co-operated with the IMB.
They also asked the judge to note that it was not a sophisticated operation and the pair had used their own phone numbers and email addresses in their online ads.
Judge O’Neill noted that they did not have prior criminal convictions, were apologetic and embarrassed. He noted the harmful effects of the medication but said he was satisfied that neither woman was a criminal but they “had got involved in a silly enterprise”.
He also noted that they were going to contribute €2,000 to cover the IMB’s legal costs.
He adjourned sentencing them until March when a probation report is to be furnished.