An Innisfail druggist will make her first court appearance on April 10 in connection to allegations she manipulated thousands of narcotic pills through an extensive long-term scam that involved stock tampering and creating numerous phony prescriptions from stolen and false identities.
The 34-year-old woman, a resident of Red Deer, has not yet been ìformallyî charged by RCMP as police are still gathering evidence for the Crown, said Innisfail RCMP Cpl. Don Morrish.
He said the woman has been given information on the charges but they have not yet been sworn.
ìShe has been issued a promise to appear (in court) but the charges have not been sworn yet just because we are going to consult with the Crown on the gravity of all the charges,î said Morrish, adding the woman's identity will not be released until the charges are formally sworn before the courts.
However, last week RCMP said charges were being ìpursuedî for fraud and illegal possession of a narcotic.
ìWe are forwarding to various labs the drugs that we have in possession for testing and a package is now being prepared for the Crown to ensure proper charges are being laid,î said Morrish. ìWe have interviews that have already been taken. We are gathering additional evidence, including video but when it comes to drugs it is an important part of the evidence. We need to show that they were in fact tampered with and to what level they were tampered with.î
The accused was a full-time staff pharmacist at the local Shoppers Drug Mart. She is also accused of committing the same crimes at a Red Deer outlet where she was a relief employee. Police believe the crimes were committed over an 18-month period.
On Feb. 13 Innisfail RCMP said the investigation began two days earlier when company officials came to the detachment following an internal security probe.
RCMP said the crimes allegedly involve the theft of a potent narcotic called Dilaudid. Police added the product losses involve an estimated 14,000 Dilaudid pills, which allegedly involved the tampering and partial removal of capsule contents from stock on the shelf of the pharmacy. RCMP believe tampered capsules were emptied of between 20 and 50 per cent of their contents before being reassembled and returned to the shelf.
RCMP said it is not known yet the value of the stolen Dilaudid.
The investigation began following reports from customers that there was noticeable decreased efficiency from their medication, said RCMP.
Police said there is no allegation of theft of store funds as it's believed the accused paid for the narcotics with her own money after creating fraudulent prescriptions.
The accused pharmacist's first court appearance on April 10 will be in Red Deer.
