Shoplifting Pharmacist Suspended for 9 Months

One pharmacist in England had more than a trick up his sleeve.

After hiding headphones and toiletries that he stole from a Boots store in Cambridge last year, Mohammed Saqib Zahirulhasan Sheikh is now suspended from his job as a pharmacist, according to Cambridge News.

For a little more than $125 worth of stolen goods, Sheikh has been suspended from the General Pharmaceutical Council’s (GPhC) register for 9 months, according to the report. The GPhC noted its ruling on Sheikh’s suspension was required to protect the pharmacy profession’s reputation.

In July 2013, Sheikh was shopping in the Cambridge Boots store, collecting items in his basket. However, he also removed a security label from an Armani perfume bottle, which he then hid in his sleeve. He also stashed headphones in his bag and skin cream in his pocket, Cambridge News reported. Although he paid for the items in his basket, he was stopped by Boots employees for not presenting the other goods and was interrogated by the police.

Sheikh told police he had been anxious about family expenses, including the roughly $4000 he owed in costs related to his wedding. According to Cambridge News, he admitted to the theft and told police, “They were too expensive for me, so I thought, no one was looking, I would take some of the stuff.”