Three South London burglars have been sentenced to five years and three months in prison for stealing nearly £1 million worth of the weight-loss drug Mounjaro from a pharmaceutical distribution site in St Albans. The highly organized heist took place on January 24 at Handley Page Way, where the men broke in through an air duct and a walk-in fridge.
Details of the Burglary
Mark Harding, 55, of Chertsey Road, Feltham; Robert Townsend, 59, of Lower Pillory Down, Sutton; and Peter Costello, 44, of Sydney Road, Sutton, were sentenced on Wednesday at St Albans Crown Court. CCTV footage showed Costello and Harding, dressed in black, wearing gloves and carrying torches, climbing into the building through an air duct behind an air conditioning unit. They then forced open a large refrigerated area and removed boxes of Mounjaro, leaving and returning less than two hours later for more.
Role of the Defendants
The prosecution stated that Townsend acted as a lookout and had scouted the site a week earlier. The trio also sprayed black paint on some CCTV cameras to avoid detection. Judge Jonathan Mann KC noted that the burglary was premeditated, saying, “Tools were used to cut through an air conditioning unit… Doing that must mean that you knew to do that, which means that this was thought about in advance.”
Financial and Legal Consequences
Harding and Townsend also admitted to possession of criminal property. Police found £35,000 in cash in a picnic basket in Harding’s wardrobe and £19,900 behind an extractor fan in Townsend’s home. The total value of the stolen Mounjaro was £944,544.89, none of which has been recovered. Judge Mann stated, “I have no doubt in concluding that a great deal of money was made as an effect of the distribution of the Mounjaro.”
Sentencing and Previous Convictions
All three defendants had previous convictions, with Costello and Harding having been prosecuted for other burglaries in the last decade. They were each sentenced to five years and three months for burglary, with Townsend and Harding receiving nine-month concurrent sentences for the criminal property charge. Proceeds of crime proceedings will follow regarding the cash found.
Police and Prosecution Comments
Detective Sergeant Will Daglish of Hertfordshire Constabulary said, “I am pleased that Townsend, Costello and Harding pleaded guilty… This was a very serious crime – weight-loss drugs must be stored correctly and are dangerous if they are not administered in the right way.” Lawyer Sophia Malik from the Crown Prosecution Service added, “This was a carefully planned burglary involving high-value pharmaceutical products… Thanks to the strength of the case built by the prosecution and the police, all three men admitted their involvement and will now serve prison sentences.”
