A pharmacist stole 2,000 boxes of Diazepam and sold them on because drug dealers put pressure on him.
Kazi Delwar abused his position at a branch of Boots based at Mirfield Health Centre to take and sell the tablets for just £1.50 a box.
The 31-year-old claimed that drug dealers threatened to hurt him if he refused to help them.
He now faces a lengthy jail term when he is sentenced by a crown court judge.
He pleaded guilty to charges of theft by employee and possession with intent to supply a controlled drug of Class C.
The offences came to light on November 30 after staff noticed that a large number of boxes of Diazepam had gone missing from the Doctor Lane store.
An audit and loss investigator was called in and told that the 28 boxes delivered there at 3pm had disappeared by 5.50pm.
Vanessa Jones, prosecuting, told Kirklees magistrates that it was suspected that a member of staff was responsible.
The next day the investigator returned and was told that the delivery of Diazepam had been intercepted by Delwar.
Mrs Jones said: “At 5.30pm staff members sat in a vehicle at the back of the store saw him come out carrying a bag of rubbish.
“He put this in the bin, pulled out a carrier bag and started walking back to his car.
“The staff challenged him and could see that the bag contained 55 boxes of Diazepam.”
Delwar was taken back to the pharmacy and police were called.
Mrs Jones told magistrates: “The defendant said he’d been taking boxes for three or four months and took 100 boxes each week.
“He said he had been supplying them to other people for £1.50 a box.
“In his interview he said drug dealers were putting him under pressure and threatened him with violence to take the Diazepam.”
Police searched his home in Howard Place, Batley, and found a further 109 boxes of the tablets in his bedroom.
In total Delwar stole 2,000 boxes worth around £2,700 and Mrs Jones said that sentencing guidelines state that the starting point for the offences should be one year in prison, beyond the magistrates’ sentencing powers.
She added: “It’s a significant breach of trust and aggravated by what happened to them as they were used in another offence.”
Zara Begum, mitigating, told magistrates that clearly their sentencing powers were not sufficient.
She said: “He is hard-working and cares for his elderly parents.
“Pressure was put on him by others who knew he worked in a pharmacy and that’s the reason why he committed the offences.”
Magistrates sent Delwar to Leeds Crown Court for sentencing.
