A doctor struck off the medical register has now been jailed for illegally selling slimming pills to patients nationwide.
Sudesh Madan, of Romford, Essex, has been given an 18-month jail term by the judge at St. Albans Crown Court. She pleaded guilty to 4 counts of possession with intent to supply a controlled drug and 4 counts of supplying a controlled drug. She also asked that 8 other offences be taken into consideration.
Dr Madan was first arrested in December 2009 by officers from the Serious and Organised Crime Group. They discovered that she had been selling Phentermine and Diethylproprion, both prescription-only drugs not recommended for long-term or medium term use, at branches of Easy Slim clinics nationwide.
It is thought that Madan first started running the clinics after she was struck off the GMC register in 2001. Patients thought they were dealing with a registered doctor as she ran them through a consultation and then sold the pills for about £20 for a week’s supply.
Her fraud was only uncovered when a patient of hers was involved in a traffic accident and revealed to police that she was taking slimming pills prescribed by the ‘doctor’.
Detective Inspector Ian Butler described her as motivated by ‘greed’, and said that through her large-scale operation she could have put patient’s lives at risk. The police are now seeking to seize the profits she accrued through the clinics via the Proceeds of Crime Act.