Burglars jailed after stealing £1m worth of Mounjaro weight-loss drug from warehouse

Three thieves have been jailed for five years and three months each after stealing almost £1 million worth of weight loss drug Mounjaro from a distribution site.

The trio entered the drug distribution facility in Handley Page Way, St Albans, by climbing through a duct behind an air conditioning unit and breaking into a walk-in fridge.

Mark Harding, 55; Robert Townsend, 59; and Peter Costello, 44, carried out a “highly organized” and “sophisticated” burglary on January 24 this year.

At St Albans Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Jonathan Mann KC sentenced the three defendants after viewing extensive CCTV footage of the incident.

He said: “Tools were used to cut through the air conditioning unit which enabled Mr Costello and Mr Harding to enter the property.

“According to the prosecution, you two used a ledge to enter the property and avoid setting off the alarms.

“Doing this must mean you know how to do it, which means it has been thought about beforehand.”

The prosecution said Townsend had stayed outside as a “lookout” and had been “surveilling” the area a week earlier.

Costello, Sydney Road, Sutton; Harding, of Chertsey Road, Feltham; and Townsend, of Lower Pillory Down, Sutton, were charged with burglary after they were arrested on February 11.

Harding and Townsend also admitted possessing criminal property after thousands of pounds were found hidden in their home.

The court heard nearly £35,000 in cash was found in a picnic basket in Harding’s wardrobe, while £19,900 was found behind an extractor fan at Townsend’s home.

All of this money was thought to be related to this crime and weight loss pills worth £944,544.89 were not found.

Judge Mann said: “I have no doubt in concluding that a large sum of money was made as a result of the distribution of Mountjaro.”

CCTV seen in court showed Costello and Harding, dressed in black, wearing gloves and carrying torches, climbed into the building through the ventilation duct.

They then quickly passed through the area and “forced open” a large refrigerated area, where they began removing boxes of weight loss pills.

The defendants left and returned less than two hours later to retrieve more boxes.

Harrie Austin-Jones, prosecuting, said there was “sophisticated targeting and scoping of the building”, meaning they knew how to bypass the alarms.

The court heard they also sprayed some CCTV cameras with black paint.

Graham Logan, for Harding, argued that he “didn’t know exactly what happened” and sought to minimize the complexity of the burglary.

But Judge Mann was unconvinced and said it was “contrary to common sense” that none of them knew what they were getting into.

All three defendants had prior convictions; Costello and Harding were both prosecuted for other thefts in the past decade.

The trio watched from a crowded gallery of family and friends; each sentenced to five years and three months’ imprisonment for theft; Townsend and Harding were sentenced to concurrent sentences of nine months in prison for criminal possession.

The proceeds of the criminal investigation will relate to criminal property found at the homes of Townsend and Harding.