In a shocking incident a 25-year old has been jailed after selling a lethal substance as a diet pill on the dark web. Jack Finney, of Foxwist Green, Whitegate, was sentenced at Chester Crown Court for supplying 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), a highly toxic industrial chemical which he illegally sold as a diet pill for weight loss. Finney will now serve 28 months in prison after products were found containing DNP at an address in Northwich. He had been selling this lethal substance to people across Europe and America on the dark web between June 2017 and July 2020.
Finney was caught during an investigation by the Food Standards Agency National Food Crime Unit (NFCU) and supported by Cheshire Police, UK Border Force, West Midlands Cyber Crime, the United States Food and Drugs Administration and the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. DNP is poisonous to humans and can cause death, as well as other serious physical side effects. Reginald Bevan, deputy head of the National Food Crime Unit said: "We welcome today’s sentencing as it sends a strong message to anyone seeking to profit from the illegal sale of this life threatening substance. "We continue to be relentless in pursuing and bringing to justice those who are endangering the public and breaking the law. For the unversed, DNP is an industrial chemical, there is no safe dosage and it is not made to be consumed as a diet supplement, which are often claims made by those selling the substance.