A codeine addict who contaminated packets of Nurofen Plus in a ruse to fund his habit was jailed today for 18 months.
Christopher McGuire cost the manufacturers £2.4 million and saved himself just £7 by placing strips of an anti-psychotic drug in empty packets of the painkiller and swapping them for new packets at pharmacies.
He was today imprisoned by a judge at Southwark Crown Court for the "carefully thought out and skilfully executed" scheme, which created a "good deal of public fear and anxiety".
It was announced in August that some Nurofen Plus tablets had been tampered with. At the time, a Pfizer spokesman said: "We advise any person that may have taken this medicine by mistake to seek medical advice and return the pack and contents to the nearest pharmacy."