'GREEDY' DOC AND HUBBY JAILED IN STOLEN PPE SCANDAL

Shamed medic flogged life-saving NHS supplies on eBay during the Covid pandemic

- By Richard Elias

A DOCTOR and her husband who made almost £8,000 out of "sheer greed" selling PPE stolen from the NHS during the Covid-19 pandemic have been jailed.

Attiya and Omer Sheikh admitted the offences, which occurred as the NHS faced its worst-ever crisis.

The couple were caught after an NHS Scotland supplier spotted its products for sale on the auction website, eBay. The company, Fannin UK Ltd, supplied items only to the NHS, and as a result, an investigation was launched.

The doctor later claimed that a man had given her the boxes of blue medical gloves in a car park but despite investigations, he has never been traced.

Yesterday, a sheriff spoke of her shock that someone working in the medical field could act in such a way.

Mother-of-three Attiya, 45, and her 48-year-old husband admitted resetting the offence of handling stolen goods - a quantity of personal protective equipment (PPE), which was the property of NHS Scotland between Saturday, May 30 and Thursday, October 7, 2020.

The pleas were made at Paisley Sheriff Court in May and yesterday the couple returned to be sentenced.

The defendants were jailed for 10 months each.

Sheriff Sukhwinder Gill told the pair: “The offence happened between May and October 2020.