A pharmacy worker stole human growth hormone valued at more than £600,000 to help his body building hobby, a jury has been told.

Naheem Malik, 26, is alleged to have stolen drugs over several months after fraudulently claiming they were for patients.

Prosecutor Paul Reid told Bradford Crown Court yesterday the charges arose from Malik’s employment at the Lloyd’s Pharmacy in Leeds Road, Bradford.

Malik, of Moorside Lane, Laisterdyke, Bradford, was employed there as an assistant dispenser.

Malik lived nearby and his role was to dispense medication, by prescription only, for elderly patients in residential homes. It involved placing orders for products with linked company, AAH Pharmaceuticals.

Mr Reid said: “The prosecution case is that over a nine-month period the defendant placed orders for large quantities of a human growth hormone drug, Somatropin, from AAH, falsely representing that the orders were legitimately required by Lloyd’s Pharmacy when he was in fact stealing the drug for his own purposes.”

He said the total value of the drugs stolen was in excess of £625,000.

Mr Reid said: “It is used by persons indulging in body building, something the defendant said he did. Although common practice, such use is regarded as illegitimate.”

He said the drug was only sold in small quantities as it was very expensive. The prosecutor said that when controlled drugs were delivered to branches they had to be signed for by a qualified pharmacist. Additional items could be signed for by other members of staff.

He said the defendant would meet the delivery driver downstairs and take the deliveries from him.

Mr Reid said the matter came to light in May, 2008, when staff became aware of a delivery of stock valued at more than £24,000. He said it was an extremely large order of a drug never before seen dispensed at the pharmacy and in the experience of staff would only be used in hospitals.

The order had been placed by the defendant the previous week, he said.

The case was reported to Lloyd’s loss prevention manager and an investigation started.

Mr Reid said that between September, 2007, and May, 2008, orders had been placed for three different types of human growth hormone drug.

Audit trails showed a large amount of the drugs had been shown as delivered on the branch computer system and then entered as written off.

Malik has pleaded not guilty to theft and fraud.

The trial continues.