A West Australian paramedic has been given 10-month suspended sentence after he stole powerful painkillers, replaced the substance with saline and then put them back into St John’s stores for other paramedics to use on unsuspecting patients.

Lee Headland, 39, pleaded guilty in the Bunbury Magistrates Court in August to one count of stealing as a servant and one count of owning a firearm without a licence.

Headland was working at the Australind substation in WA’s South West. Credit: Hannah Murphy

He was the sub-station manager of Australind in the South West when paramedics noticed a number of vials containing fentanyl had been tampered with.

Magistrate Stephen Butcher handed Headland a 10-month suspended sentence on Thursday, and said he was satisfied he would not re-offend.

Howev

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