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A disgraced local pharmacist who used the names of the dead and dying to fill bogus fentanyl prescriptions was sentenced Tuesday to 11 years behind bars.

Yogesh Patel, a 47-year-old Kitchener resident who had no criminal record, had pleaded guilty to stealing opioid drugs — including 3,000 fentanyl patches and 1,500 hydromorphone patches with a street value of almost $1 million — from a Rexall pharmacy in Woodstock.

In court in April, Patel admitted that between 2013 and 2016, he forged documents, defrauded and stole prescription narcotics from Rexall and the Ontario Drug Benefit Plan, and possessed hydromorphone, morphine and the potentially deadly painkiller fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.

Patel used people’s real names, fictitious names and names of the dead and dying from local obituaries or a hospice to forge documents for about 150 prescriptions.

The defence was seeking a prison sentence of two to four years, or two years and three years of probation. The Crown sought a much harsher 15-year sentence for Patel for the drug offences and another two years, to be served at the same time or consecutively, for the fraud charges.

In 2011 Patel was hired by Rexall in the Sobey’s Plaza in Woodstock, where he became the store’s manager. Patel was the narcotics signer — the only person who could authorize narcotics at the pharmacy.

He eventually became friendly with co-accused William Minton, who in August 2014 told Patel his doctor no longer could prescribe him fentanyl. Between 2013 and 2016 Patel provided Minton with fentanyl in exchange for cash and products such as alcohol and perfume.

At his sentencing hearing in July, defence lawyer Jim Dean said Patel had no explanation for his decision to sell opioids to the Woodstock man, who’s also facing drug-related charges.

Dean said his client had a happy, privileged upbringing in his native India, a successful career in Canada and a young family. As well, Patel lived free of financial worries or addiction issues.

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FACTS ABOUT FENTANYL

  • In 2014, more than 700 people died in Ontario from opioid-related causes.
  • In Oxford County seven people died from opioid overdoses in 2013, six in 2014, four in 2015, and four occurred in first half of 2016
  • Fentanyl is 50 to 100 times more toxic than morphine and the leading cause of opioid death in Ontario.
  • Street fentanyl is either pharma-diverted or imported from overseas.
  • Fentanyl can’t be seen, smelled or tasted, making it difficult to detect.
  • Even a small amount can cause an overdose, especially when users don’t know their drugs contain fentanyl.
  • Fentanyl patches are cut into strips for those who cannot afford the price of a full patch, a dangerous practice because it may lead to uneven ingestion of the drug.
  • Canada has a new Good Samaritan Law that allows people who call 911 for an overdose to avoid prosecution for some offences.