Delivery driver avoids jail after blaming eating disorder for stealing £4k of weight-loss drug Ozempic from workplace

A DELIVERY driver who avoided jail after blaming an eating disorder for stealing £4,000 worth of Ozempic from his workplace. Peter Daniel was handed a six-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, and was ordered to pay compensation after swiping more than 30 boxes of the weight-loss drug. Peter Daniel, 62, has avoided jail after blaming an eating disorder for stealing Ozempic from his workplace Credit: Met Police/Triangle News The 62-year-old previously had an unblemished 23-year record working for pharmaceutical giant Cencora Alliance Healthcare. But he told cops he had taken the weight loss drugs to help treat the unspecified eating disorder. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! His crimes only came to light when a customer complained that part of their order was missing. When company bosses checked CCTV, they saw Daniel swiping boxes from pigeon holes that weren’t his. He initially appeared at Croydon Magistrate’s Court in June accused of one count of theft by employee to which he pleaded guilty. Mohammed Bismillah, defending, described his client as having a previously “unblemished record.” “These items that were misappropriated were not for financial gain,” he said. “He has an eating disorder and they were for his own use.” Most read in The Sun Daniel was handed the suspended sentence, ordered to attend a mental health treatment programme for 18 months and given a rehabilitation activity requirement of 10 days. Daniel, of Croydon, south London, began working for what is now Cencora Alliance Healthcare in 2002, according to his LinkedIn account. The thefts were all said to have taken place between April 17 and May 5 this year, with the customer making the complaint on May 13. Michael A’Herne, prosecuting, said: “The complainant in this matter drove medication to various pharmacies such as Boots and others. “On May 13, a customer said they were missing refrigeration materials and therefore CCTV was checked. “The defendant stated that in his role as a delivery driver he would collect packs from his pigeon hole but on CCTV he could be seen to swipe several products from several different pigeon holes. “Police searched his address. They looked in his fridge and found 34 Ozempic boxes. “These could be dangerous in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to use them or has not been prescribed them.” The 34 Ozempic boxes were worth £4,080. Mr A’Herne went on to reveal that the company has up to 15,000 missing parcels a month, costing £300,000. “I believe that the defendant had some contribution to those figures,” he added. Daniel has five previous convictions, the court heard, although all were from before 1991. “He worked for the company for 23 years and breached a high degree of trust – he was trusted to deliver those items,” Mr A’Herne added. Daniel was also ordered to pay costs to the Crown Prosecution Service of £85, a surcharge of £154 and compensation to his employer of £4,080 to cover the cost of the drugs.