‘There is no safe way to take NPS’

Legal authorities have slammed two men who were jailed on Tuesday for a total of nine years for selling so-called legal highs, claiming “it is only by good fortune” that there were no fatalities caused by their illegal operation.

Both the Crown Office and Police Scotland highlighted how some of the customers who bought the new psychoactive substances (NPS) from Liston Pacitti and Paul Brocklehurst’s stores in Perth, Arbroath and Montrose were as young as 13, and stated that “a number” of people who took the legal highs fell ill and required hospital treatment.

The convictions handed out to the pair are the first to take place in Scotland involving the culpable and reckless supply of NPS.

Speaking after the pair were sentenced at Dundee Sheriff Court, Catriona Dalrymple, procurator fiscal (local court) for north and east of Scotland, said Pacitti and Brocklehurst were “only interested in profit” and claimed they had “no regard” for the safety of their customers. “It is only by good fortune that there were no fatalities,” she said.

“Although the substances they supplied were not at the time controlled under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, police and prosecutors were able to build a case against them using the common law offence of culpable and reckless conduct.”

Superintendent Suzie Mertes, of Police Scotland, also welcomed the sentence, stressing it was “testament” to the “excellent work” of police and partner agencies.

“This reinforces the message that we are fully committed to tackling the issues associated with NPS,” she commented.

“Along with partner agencies, we will continue to take enforcement action against those individuals who are involved in the sale of these substances in Tayside and across Scotland,” she added.

“Just because they are labelled legal does not mean they are safe. There is no safe way to take NPS.”

Picture: Steve MacDougall. The former This N That premises in County Place, Perth.