This is a different kind of cleanup.
"Thieves in Conn. grab $75m in pills" by Stephanie Reitz, Associated Press | March 17, 2010
HARTFORD — In a Hollywood-style heist, thieves cut a hole in the roof of a warehouse, rappelled inside, and scored one of the biggest hauls of its kind, not diamonds, gold bullion, or Old World art, but about $75 million in antidepressants and other prescription drugs.
The pills, stolen from the pharmaceutical giant
“This is like the Brink’s pill heist,’’ said Erik Gordon, a University of Michigan business professor who studies the health care industry. “This one will enter the folklore.’’
The thieves apparently scaled the brick exterior of the warehouse in an industrial park in Enfield, a town about midway between Hartford and Springfield, during a blustery rainstorm before daybreak Sunday. After lowering themselves to the floor, they disabled the alarms and spent at least an hour loading pallets of drugs into a vehicle, authorities said.
“Just by the way it occurred, it appears that there were several individuals involved and that it was a very well planned-out and orchestrated operation,’’ Enfield police Chief Carl Sferrazza said. “It’s not your run-of-the-mill home burglary, that’s for sure.’’
Smells like an INSIDE JOB!
And I know whom I suspect, readers -- especially when the coverage dies so quickly.
Specialists described it as one of the biggest pharmaceutical heists in history.
Edward Sagebiel, a spokesman for Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly, put the wholesale value of the drugs at $75 million and said they included the antidepressants Prozac and Cymbalta and the antipsychotic Zyprexa. No narcotics or other painkillers were in the warehouse, he added. The thefts will not cause any national shortages of the products, he said.
Other pharmaceutical warehouses have been hit with similar burglaries in recent years, but specialists said the value of the Eli Lilly heist far eclipses any other prescription-drug thefts they have tracked. The thieves could easily net $20 million to $25 million, Gordon said.
Enfield police would not say whether the building had surveillance video or whether employees are being investigated.
The FBI was called in.
Dan Burges, director of intelligence at FreightWatch International, a Texas security company, and Gordon said the thieves probably already had a buyer lined up, possibly an online pharmacy or someone in South America or Asia, where drug regulations are lax.Just say NO to DRUGS!
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"Drug shipment thefts up sharply across country; Trend is blamed on weak security, high price levels" by Matthew Perrone, Associated Press | March 18, 2010
WASHINGTON — The $75 million theft at a pharmaceutical warehouse in Connecticut this week was the most audacious example of a growing phenomenon: Thieves are stealing large quantities of prescription drugs for resale on the black market.
Pharmaceutical thefts in the United States have quadrupled since 2006, a coalition of industry and law enforcement estimates. And analysts say the reasons include spotty security and high drug prices that can make such thefts extremely lucrative.
While some stolen pills wind up overseas, others show up on pharmacy shelves in the United States. The theft from an Eli Lilly & Co. warehouse early Sunday was the largest of its kind on record and attests to the growing sophistication of those who pull off such crimes.
Authorities say the thieves cut a hole in the roof, lowered themselves into the building with ropes, disabled the alarm system, and stole enough drugs to fill a tractor-trailer. The pharmaceuticals included antidepressants Prozac and Cymbalta.
“The people that target the pharmaceutical industry are an organized criminal element,’’ said Charles Forsaith, director of supply chain security for drug maker Purdue Pharma. “This isn’t a couple of guys walking by a warehouse and saying, ‘I’m going to hit that place.’ ’’
Yeah, WE KNOW!
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Widely abused drugs such as morphine and codeine are often peddled on the street, but federal officials say drugs like those stolen from Lilly are often sold back to medical suppliers.
Major drugstore chains say they purchase pharmaceuticals only from manufacturers or wholesalers that certify the source of their product. But with layers of drug wholesalers, distributors, and online pharmacy businesses across the country, stolen prescription drugs can easily be resold.
“Some of these thieves completely redo labels, and they pass muster if no one’s looking too closely,’’ said Food and Drug Administration spokesman Tom Gasparoli.
The danger to the public comes if the thieves decide to hold onto the product until it expires and becomes unsafe.
“If they flood the market with this stuff now, they’re going to get caught. If they hold onto them too long, you’re going to have shelf-life issues,’’ said Steve Brozak, president of WBB Securities, an investment firm focused on the drug industry.
Security officials say the incentives behind pharmaceutical theft are largely confined to the United States and unlikely to change anytime soon.
And we know why, of cour$e.
Once you understand WHO organized crime REALLY IS -- not the Godfther imagery the jewsmedia gives you -- it all makes sense.
“Whenever you have a health care system where drugs are very expensive and there’s a fragmented supply chain, you’re going to have a means to profit from stolen drugs,’’ said Ron Greene of FreightWatch.
Drug makers are taking steps to protect their products, including use of security guards and electronic tracking systems.
The FDA has stepped up its own efforts, issuing alerts to the public, working with manufacturers, wholesalers, pharmacies, and police, and publishing lot numbers of stolen drugs.Oh, the FDA is one the case. That's a relief.
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"Conn. suspect tries to admit guilt; Defense lawyers resisting effort" by John Christoffersen, Associated Press | April 2, 2010
And the part I wanted to quote has been cut!
I'm getting sick of this shit from the Boston Globe, readers.
Maybe it is time to finally put it down and stop buying and reading it.
NEW HAVEN — Steven Hayes, 46, and Joshua Komisarjevsky, 20, of Cheshire, were accused of breaking into the Petit home, beating Dr. William Petit, and holding the family hostage for hours before strangling the wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, and setting the house on fire. Her daughters, 11-year-old Michaela and 17-year-old Hayley, who had been tied to their beds, died of smoke inhalation....
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Also see: Around New England: Terrorists Attack Connecticut Gas Plant
Globe Leaking Gas in Connecticut
Around New England: Globe Cuts the Connecticut Cheese
Around New England: Something Stinks in the State of Connecticut
Around New England: Silent Gas Under the Sheets in Connecticut
Gee, that investigation sure is taking forever.
Or did the Glob just not get back to us, dear readers?
