A man who stole a potentially lethal quantity of methadone from the counter of a Dundee pharmacy has been jailed for eight months.
Douglas Laidlaw made off with two-and-a-half litres of the class A drug, which is used as a heroin substitute, from Wallacetown Health Centre last month.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard on Tuesday that the theft clearly showed the “downward spiral” of the 33-year-old, who was subject to four bail orders at the time of the offence.
Depute fiscal Trina Sinclair told the court that the pharmacist at the health centre had seen that the methadone dispensing bottle was empty and needed replaced.
Ms Sinclair said: “He got a two-and-a-half litre bottle and placed it on a counter to attend to a customer.
“At 1.35pm, he went to the main dispensing area and saw the accused with something in his hand. The accused opened the door and walked out.”
The pharmacist realised the methadone bottle was missing and contacted the police. A review of CCTV showed Laidlaw in the pharmacy area and police units attended.
Laidlaw was later traced and detained and told officers: “I am very sorry for any trouble I have caused you.”
Ms Sinclair added: “Police carried out inquiries and the methadone container was recovered from somewhere else in Dundee.
“It was taken to the witness who confirmed it as the stolen methadone bottle.”
Kevin Hampton, defending, said: “It’s fair to say Mr Laidlaw knows custody is inevitable.
“The catalyst for this deterioration appears to have been a very serious assault on him with a weapon when he lived in a homeless shelter.
“Unfortunately, he has been moving from pillar to post and has a chaotic lifestyle. Substance abuse has always been a difficulty.
“To steal methadone from a pharmacy where he would clearly be identified shows how far he has gone. He is on a downward spiral and he knows that custody will follow today.”
Laidlaw, no fixed abode, admitted committing the theft on April 8.
Sheriff Richard McFarlane told him: “You have a significant record and at the time of the commission of this offence you were on four bail orders.
“This was a significant quantity of methadone you unlawfully removed and being on the counter, it was an opportunistic theft.
“It was a moveable commodity. Given the nature of the item stolen and the bail orders, the only sentence is a custodial one.”