A SCOTTISH man who imported pesticide from China, packed it into pills in his garden shed, and sold it as a weight-loss drug has been sentenced to three years in jail.
Jamie George, aged 32, was given a 37-month sentence for supplying the public with a potentially fatal substance – 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP).
George pleaded guilty to charges of culpably and recklessly providing DNP knowing the substance was unsafe, injurious to health, and potentially lethal if ingested.
He was sentenced at Stirling Sheriff Court on Tuesday, July 4, with the sheriff saying he had been distributing DNP "worldwide".
The gym boss was charged with supplying the substance at premises including the Muscle Hut in Camelon between May 1, 2017 and October 8, 2021.
DNP was used as an anti-obesity drug in the 1930s after factory workers noticed that they would lose weight after being exposed to it.
The drug, which will be regulated under the Poisons Act 1972 from October, caused “weight loss by uncoupling oxidative phosphorylation, leading to a heightened metabolic rate and increased fat metabolism”, according to the Practical Guide to Obesity Medicine, 2018.
Food Standards Scotland (FSS) welcomed the conviction, saying that its team, working alongside police and Falkirk Council, recovered 5kg of DNP, 120 filled capsules and 10,000 empty capsules as part of their investigation.
It was suggested that 1kg could fill 5000 capsules of the chemical, which has been blamed for 33 deaths in the UK to date – two of which were in Scotland.
Ron McNaughton, the head of the FSS’s Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU), said: "We welcome today's sentencing as we know that DNP has tragically been responsible for at least 33 deaths in the UK since 2007 and it remains of critical importance that we continue to highlight the dangers of DNP again and again.
“DNP is not safe for human consumption under any circumstances. If you consume DNP you are very likely to become ill, potentially seriously ill, and there is a real possibility that you could die as a result. I cannot be more clear.”
He added: “Jamie George's sentencing today sends a clear message that there are consequences for those individuals who are prepared to put peoples’ lives at risk in order to profit financially from the supply of DNP.”
The case is the first of its kind involving DNP in Scotland, and the first major criminal conviction for the SFCIU.
Councillor Cecil Meiklejohn, the SNP leader of Falkirk Council, said she hoped the conviction acts as a deterrent.
Meiklejohn said: “The investigation involving our environmental health officers involved a significant resource in executing search warrants, examining evidence, interviewing witnesses, and checking fitness centres.
“The aim was to disrupt and stop the manufacture and sale of this dangerous chemical for human consumption.
“We are pleased that the work has resulted in a conviction and hope this serves as a warning to others.”
The sheriff said in a ruling, issued by Stirling Sheriff Court on Tuesday: "This was your operation. You organised the manufacture and sale of this substance. You sold it as an aid to weight loss. You did that for considerable financial gain and, it appears, you ran part of the operation through your gym businesses. Your operation was well organised and you distributed your product worldwide. Significantly you carried out your operation for years, despite coming to the attention of the authorities, and you even continued your trade after you were arrested.
"I do not believe you have shown any remorse. You claim to have only recently discovered the dangers of this substance and as a result you have put certain measures in place in your gyms. The evidence is clear, you knew some years ago of the dangers to all of those persons you supplied this substance to. Even with that knowledge you continued to put people’s lives at risk."
People are asked to contact the FSS Scottish Food Crime Hotline on 0800 028 7926 if they have any information regarding the sale of DNP.
