A North West drug lord whose gang supplied cocaine and heroin to Manchester and other parts of the UK has been struck off as a registered mental health nurse.
Alan Tobin, then 52, and his gang flooded the country with hundreds of kilos of cocaine. He was jailed for 20 years at Liverpool Crown Court in April 2021 for two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and two counts of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs, operating under the EncroChat alias of 'CapeRocket'.
Their drug empire came crashing down when police seized £20m worth of cocaine from a van on the M6 motorway - the largest seizure ever on land in the UK. Other gang members were also jailed.
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On Monday (August 1) a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness to practise committee held a "virtual hearing" to consider whether Tobin’s fitness to practise was “impaired” as a result of his convictions. The NMC struck him off as a registered mental health nurse and imposed an interim suspension of 18 months to cover Tobin’s opportunity to launch an appeal within 28 days of the striking-off order. The session took place supported with advice from a legal assessor, Liverpool Echo reports.
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In its findings report, the NMC panel said Tobin, of Regency Park, Widnes, registered as a qualified mental health nurse in 2009, and was employed by Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust at the time of his arrest on September 9, 2020, during a series of warrants executed by Cheshire Police. The report’s author said Tobin’s demise followed “an 18-month investigation into an organised crime group responsible for supplying Class A and Class B drugs throughout England and Scotland”.
He pleaded guilty to four counts of conspiracy to supply heroin, cocaine, ketamine and cannabis on January 20, 2021, and was sentenced on April 20, 2021
The NMC report said there was “no statutory definition of fitness to practise”, but Tobin’s conduct had “breached the fundamental tenets of the nursing profession and therefore brought its reputation into disrepute”.
It said there was no evidence of “clinical concerns” or harm to patients, but that Tobin’s “participation in organised crime and gang activity” and the drugs supplied carried an “inherent risk”.
His actions were determined to have breached the NMC’s professional conduct Rule 20, which requires nurses and midwives to “uphold the reputation of your profession at all times”.
The report said Tobin, although not present in person for the hearing, had engaged with the NMC’s enquiries and provided a comment on the proceedings. He said: “I am truly sorry for the shame I have brought on myself and family, not to mention my work colleagues.
“This whole case is causing me great pain and anxiety, I would really like it drawn to a conclusion at the early possible time [sic].”
It was determined the seriousness of Tobin’s charges meant there was a “risk of repetition”.
Outlining the committee’s decision to strike him off, the NMC report said: “The panel determined that, in this case, a finding of impairment on public interest grounds was required as a reasonably informed member of the public would be highly concerned if a nurse who had been recently convicted of two counts of conspiracy to supply Class A drugs and two counts of conspiracy to supply Class B drugs were found to be fit to practise without restriction.
“Having regard to all of the above, the panel was satisfied that Mr Tobin’s fitness to practise is currently impaired.”
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