Businessman Denies Knowing Imported Pills Were Chinese Fakes

A businessman accused of a multi-million pound counterfeit-medicines plot - Europe's biggest ever - told a he did not know the drugs were Chinese-manufactured fakes.

Richard Kemp, 61, of School Lane, Y Waen, Flint Mountain, Clwyd, the ex-boss of Kemco Pharmaceutical Ltd. is accused with four others of being motivated by "pure greed" when selling three types of life-saving medicines.

Medicine watchdogs ordered a Class One recall of all suspected drugs - taken by heart and cancer patients and the mentally ill - resulting in shelves cleared in pharmacies all over the country.

Charges were brought following a two-year investigation by the Medicines and Health Care products Regulatory Agency, part of the Department of Health into Consolidated Medical Supplies Ltd. (CMS).

The company, of Unit 14, Sherrington Way, Lister Road, Industrial Estate, Basingstoke, had its Wholesale Dealers Licence revoked by the MHRA on January 8, 2008.

The other defendants are: Peter Gillespie, 64, of Carey Close, Windsor, Berkshire; Peter's brother Ian Gillespie, 58, of The Green, Marsh Baldon, Oxford; Ian Harding, 58, of Lower Westwood, Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire and James Quinn, 69, of Gillespie House, Holloway Drive, Virginia Water, Surrey.

Kemp pumped £186,000 into CMS, but when asked if he knew the company's supplies of drugs originated in Singapore he told the Croydon Crown Court jury: "Definitely not."

He also insisted he did not know the good name of his company was being used as the consignee for shipments of drugs, that Kemco's wholesale dealers licence was being used or that his name was being forged on documents.

Kemco was founded in 1982 and originally run from the defendant's home, which had a purpose-built concrete warehouse with steel doors to store the large amounts of prescription drugs he traded in.

He expanded into Ireland and imported medicines for the U.K. market, enjoying a £4-5m annual turnover and a £360,000-£450,000 a year salary.

A clearly emotional Kemp told the jury: "No business exists anymore. In two weeks in 2007 they closed them down in the U.K. and Ireland.

When asked if he was an honest businessman he insisted: "Definitely, yes."

CMS emerged from the ashes of Staines-based Discpharm, which went bust, leaving Peter Gillespie bankrupt and banned from running a business.

"I believed CMS was Peter trying to resurrect the French side of Discpharm," Kemp told the jury, giving evidence for the first time since the trial began three months ago.

"Peter wanted to talk to me about getting involved in CMS financially.

"The old French customers would not deal with him because the bank had put the poison in.

"I had always worked on my own, but Peter did a good selling job on me and I was persuaded to put some money in."

Kemp had meetings at the Basingstoke HQ where he claims he believed legal French prescription medicines would be imported and repackaged for the retail market.

"Peter was saying this business was successful before and it could be successful again and we had to get over the negativity of the French wholesalers."

The charges relate to 'Casodex', used to treat advanced prostate cancer, 'Plavix', a drug prescribed to prevent blood clots and prevent heart attacks for angina patients and 'Zyprexa' a anti-psychotic drug prescribed to schizophrenic and bipolar patients.

All five have pleaded not guilty that between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007, they conspired together and with others to defraud pharmaceutical wholesalers, pharmacists, the public and holders of Intellectual Property Rights in pharmaceuticals by dishonestly distributing for gain counterfeit medicines.

They also deny two counts each of selling or supplying the three drugs without authorisation and selling or supplying counterfeit goods, namely the three medicines, between January 1, 2006 and June 30, 2007.

Peter Gillespie alone denies one count of breaching a company director disqualification order between July, 2005 and June, 2007, following his bankruptcy.

The drugs were manufactured by the notorious Chinese pharmaceutical counterfeiter Lu Xu aka Kevin Xu, currently serving a prison sentence for a similar scam in the United States.

His bogus drugs were imported via Singapore and Belgium before being ferried and driven into the U.K and distributed by the five defendants, allege the prosecution.

Trial continues.................