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A 39-year-old woman in Northern Ireland was last week handed a suspended sentenced for unlawful possession with intent to supply licensed and unlicensed prescription medicines.

Nadine Poole, a beautician from Whitehill Lodge, Lisburn, was given a three-month prison sentence suspended for three years at Lisburn Magistrates Court on Thursday for an offence under the Misuse of Drugs Act. She also received fines totalling £3,600.

The medicines included injectable Botulinum toxin type A, known as Botox, Hydroxocobalamin, Hyaluronidase and Semaglutideand Lidocaine. Poole was also convicted for the unlawful possession of the Class C drug Gabapentin.

In January last year, enforcement officers from the Department of Health's Medicines Regulatory Group seized unlawfully held prescription medicines intended for sale or supply from her home which was operating as an aesthetics clinic.

The Department of Health's senior medicines enforcement officer Peter Moore said the conviction “sends a strong message that there are consequences if a person attempts to bypass the regulated system and its controls which are in place to ensure public safety and the integrity of the medicines supply chain”.

“I would urge people to consider the implications of buying medicines from dubious or unregulated sources – there is no way of knowing what you are buying is what you think it is, and this can have serious consequences for your health,” he said.

“People should be suspicious of unusually cheap prices, treatments offered in domestic settings, or practitioners who cannot provide proper credentials.”