A man who made and sold poisonous diet pills has been jailed.
DNP is poisonous to humans and has been banned for human consumption in the UK.
The industrial chemical, which is officially known as 2,4-Dinitrophenol, has been illegally sold as a pill for weight loss, according to police.
Kyle Enos, 33, from Maesteg, Bridgend, was jailed for three years on Thursday after a multi-agency investigation.
DNP can cause serious physical side effects or death, according to the Food Standards Agency.
Enos was found to have purchased the pure form sodium salt of the powder from China via the dark web.
He made the pills using cutting agents and a pill press in his bedroom and advertised them on a website he had made.
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After receiving orders via email, he would ship the products within the UK and beyond, disguising them as vitamins and minerals.
Following the investigation, he was charged with multiple drug offences and pleaded guilty at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on 1 May.
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‘Extremely ill or even dying’
He was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court for one count of member of public import/acquire/possess/use of a regulated substance without licence, one count of supply regulated substance to member of public without verifying licence and one count of supply of regulated poison by person other than a pharmacist.
He was also found to have failed to comply with a serious crime prevention order (SCPO) after a previous conviction for the supply of the Class A drug Fentanyl.
Detective Constable Kieran Morris, of South Wales Police’s regional organised crime unit (ROCU) Tarian, said Enos was supplying the pills “with no safety precautions in place”, which could have led to buyers “becoming extremely ill or even dying”.
“Tarian ROCU are committed to safeguarding members of the public not only within our region, but across the United Kingdom and beyond,” he added.
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Alison Abbott, head of the National Crime Agency’s prisons and lifetime management unit, said SCPOs were “a powerful tool” to help prevent those convicted of “serious offences” from reoffending after their release from prison.
“This case should serve as a warning to others,” she added.
“As we did with Enos, we will actively monitor all those who are subject to such orders, and they will stay on our radar even after they are released from jail.”
