news, crime

A suspended Canberra vet had to be locked up after she attempted to hide illegal medication during a police raid. Janet (Jan) Spate, 73, attempted to hide a bottle of a euthanasia drug under bedroom pillows while moving her dogs during a search at her Hall home on November 15. Police had repeatedly told her not to touch anything. Police then later caught Spate moving a schedule 4 substance – which she was not authorised to possess- concealed inside a plastic bag and wrapped in towels. When asked what she was carrying, Spate replied that she had moved the bag because it had been "full of stuff I shouldn't have". Earlier in the day, when asked if she had any declared substances at the location, Spate had told police: "I don't think so … to my knowledge there's nothing much because I went through the place … and I couldn't find anything else". Spate was arrested about 12.15pm and sent to the ACT Watchhouse to prevent her attempting to conceal or destroy evidence. Spate has pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court to charges of pretending to be a registered vet, providing regulated vet services, possessing prescription only medication, and failing to store registered firearms and ammunition correctly. Spate was suspended from practising as a veterinarian in the ACT in 2016 after a series of complaints were made against her over a seven-year period. She was not eligible to reapply for registration until October this year. Spate's bid to then seek registration across the border in NSW was also rejected. In February 2017, the ACT Veterinary Surgeons Board cancelled the registration of the Jan Spate Veterinary Surgery and told Spate her Hall premises were no longer registered as a surgery. Spate then used the premises to set up an animal supplies store, but she continued to provide vet treatment from the building. However, court documents said Spate charged a man $50 for flea treatments and an injection for his cat in May 2017. In September, ACT Health seized 24 substances from Spate's business premises and private residence in Hall. Court documents said the substances had a schedule 4 classification, which are prescription only medications or prescription animal remedies. Police and ACT Health raided the property in November, finding capsules and vials of schedule four substances. The authorities also found pathology request forms, identifying Spate as the referring vet surgeon, for a biopsy for a cat and a blood test for a dog. A $150.04 receipt for the dog was found in the office of her animal supplies store. Police also seized two firearms, one loaded, from Spate's vehicle for not being stored safely. Court documents said the guns had been inside unlocked storage cabinets on the tray of Spate's ute. Keys, left in the ignition of the vehicle, could be used to unlock the box containing the weapons within the storage cabinets. Police found ammunition in an unlocked plastic tool box in a storage container on the vehicle. More schedule 4 substances were also located on the vehicle, including in an unlocked storage cabinet, glove box, and a broken fridge. Special Magistrate Ken Cush will sentence Spate on Tuesday morning.

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