Doctor and husband jailed for selling stolen NHS PPE on eBay during lockdown
A doctor and her husband were each jailed for 10 months yesterday after selling stolen hospital Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) on eBay during the first covid lockdown.
Crooks Attiya Sheikh and husband Omer Sheikh generated almost £8,000 from selling PPE, that they knew had been pinched from the NHS, on four eBay accounts between May and October 2020.
The couple were exposed after NHS Scotland supplier Fannin spotted its products for sale on the auction website.
Detectives found that the couple had been selling the much-needed PPE online for £15 to £20 when 'the world was in a heightened state of fear and anxiety' at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
The pair were sentenced to 10 months in prison with Sheriff Sukhwinder Gill saying the doctor had committed an 'egregious breach of trust' while working at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, and that the offence 'merits a custodial sentence'.
Sheriff Gill slammed the couple and told them: 'Mrs Sheikh, you are 46, a health professional and at the time were a doctor with the NHS. At this time, the NHS was facing an unprecedented crisis, there was an extreme shortage of PPE, not only in this country but globally.
'As a doctor, you clearly knew this PPE was required for your colleagues and the safety indeed of their families. It is difficult to imagine a more egregious breach of trust not only in respect of your colleagues but of the general public.'
'You sold this stolen PPE for financial gain. Mr Sheikh, I don't differentiate between you and your wife. You done this together for sheer greed.'
Paisley Sheriff Court heard Attiya Sheikh worked as a doctor at Hairmyres Hospital in East Kilbride, while her 48-year-old husband worked front-of-house at a family restaurant.
Dr Sheikh was sacked by the NHS the day after she pleaded guilty to the 'abhorrent offence.'
The town's court previously heard cops raided the Sheikh family home in Thornliebank in October 2020. During the search, 121 boxes of PPE, belonging to the NHS, were found in the couple's attic.
The procurator fiscal depute told the court: 'Officers searched the attic and found 121 boxes of blue medical gloves, facemasks and electronic equipment that included a silver iPhone.'
The value of the stolen items was put at £7,827.
Attiya Sheikh's lawyer, John Scullion KC, told Paisley Sheriff Court that his client bitterly regretted her actions. He said: 'She acknowledges the significant breach of trust the offence represents.'
Faye Cook, procurator fiscal for North Strathclyde, said of the case: "This was a particularly egregious crime.
'The public put their trust in medical practitioners. As a hospital doctor, Attiya Sheikh betrayed that trust at a time of acute need when patients and NHS staff relied heavily on the availability of PPE.
'For her and her husband to benefit financially from this criminal conduct will shock many people. But now they have both been brought to account for their crimes and must face the consequences of their actions.'
Gordon Young, head of NHS Scotland counter fraud services, added: 'This successful prosecution reaffirms NHSScotland's commitment to safeguarding vital resources for health service provision as intended by the taxpayer.'
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