Prescription Drug Heist On The rise

[MJS]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35917590/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/


http://www.courant.com/community/enfield/hc-enfield-drugs-0317.artmar16,0,4974081.story

A few links talking about the recent 75 million dollar drug theft that happened this past weekend. Looking at the way the theft went down, it would almost seem that it was a job done by people who were very familiar with the ins and outs of the building, security, etc. Claims are being made that the drugs are being sold on the black market.

Thoughts?

 

[grydth]

I read this today, too.

To me it is simple: Thieves go where the money is and the police ain't.

 

[Carol]

My initial thought is...I am surprised a heist such as this did not happen sooner. Rx drugs have a high value in a small package.

In the past, stolen drugs have appeared on the shelves of pharmacies or the black market, according to industry experts. Thieves also sell stolen goods to buyers in Latin American or Asian countries.

I'm going to speculate that robbers that can pull off a heist that sophisticated also have a sophisticated plan as to what they will do with the still-factory-sealed merchandise.

At the risk of sounding like something out of a Grisham book, I have no doubt that this was an inside job. You're someone that makes...30K, 50K, maybe even 90K for for Eli Lilly, and you devise a plan with some others, to pull off a heist that could net all of you retire in a foreign country someplace.

 

[grydth]

My initial thought is...I am surprised a heist such as this did not happen sooner. Rx drugs have a high value in a small package.



I'm going to speculate that robbers that can pull off a heist that sophisticated also have a sophisticated plan as to what they will do with the still-factory-sealed merchandise.

At the risk of sounding like something out of a Grisham book, I have no doubt that this was an inside job. You're someone that makes...30K, 50K, maybe even 90K for for Eli Lilly, and you devise a plan with some others, to pull off a heist that could net all of you retire in a foreign country someplace.

Sounds good to me, I'm in....
er, I meant, I'm interested, yeah, in hearing more of your thoughts...
Retire in the south of France, hmmmmmmm
%-}

 

[Carol]

Sounds good to me, I'm in....
er, I meant, I'm interested, yeah, in hearing more of your thoughts...
Retire in the south of France, hmmmmmmm
%-}

Hey, ya know...maybe we can get villas near each other on the Rivera, hang out and talk about the good old days. :lol2:

 

[MJS]

My initial thought is...I am surprised a heist such as this did not happen sooner. Rx drugs have a high value in a small package.



I'm going to speculate that robbers that can pull off a heist that sophisticated also have a sophisticated plan as to what they will do with the still-factory-sealed merchandise.

At the risk of sounding like something out of a Grisham book, I have no doubt that this was an inside job. You're someone that makes...30K, 50K, maybe even 90K for for Eli Lilly, and you devise a plan with some others, to pull off a heist that could net all of you retire in a foreign country someplace.

And much like a drug dealer that would sell you crack or any other illegal drug, the people that stole these things, to possibly sell to other countries, apparently dont care about the people that could potentially get these meds from a doctor.

Last June, thieves stole 129,000 vials of insulin in North Carolina. The drugs were not properly refrigerated, and later surfaced at a medical center in Houston. The Food and Drug Administration said in August that some patients suffered unsafe blood-sugar levels after using them and that it had recovered just 2 percent of the stolen insulin.

So here you have someone who's a diabetic, who's relying on insulin, and its not all its cracked up to be. But then again, the shady docs and other medical people dont care, because they're getting drugs/meds, from a different source, possibly cheaper, the dealers are getting what they want, which is cash, so in the end, its the innocent person thats the real victim.

 

[MJS]

Sounds good to me, I'm in....
er, I meant, I'm interested, yeah, in hearing more of your thoughts...
Retire in the south of France, hmmmmmmm
%-}

Hey, ya know...maybe we can get villas near each other on the Rivera, hang out and talk about the good old days. :lol2:

Hey, maybe we could go on one of those month long cruises to all those wonderful, exotic ports.

 

[Carol]

And much like a drug dealer that would sell you crack or any other illegal drug, the people that stole these things, to possibly sell to other countries, apparently dont care about the people that could potentially get these meds from a doctor.

Actually they don't go to doctors.

In Spain an Mexico (other countries too, but I've personally seen this in those two countries while on travel), the people on the front lines for health care are not doctors or nurses...they are pharmacists. They diagnose, prescribe meds, give injections, etc. They also recommend OTC treatments too. Patients generally only go to doctors when pharamacists cannnot treat them.

When I was in the Pyrennees on assignment my American counterpart developed an odd skin rash while we were working in a server room. He asked me to take him to the Farmacia because the pharmacist on duty spoke French and Spanish, but not English. I had gotten a headache from the noise and thought that picking up some Advil was a good idea. The pharmacist diagnosed the rash as a chemical burn. Was he around any acids or solvents? Yes, changing out the industrial sized batteries. She prescribed a cream to treat it and told him to come back in 24 hour if it didn't get better, or if it got worse. (He was fine).

She asked me what was wrong, I said just a headache, she said she recommended Paracetemol. (Paracetemol? What the...?) I asked her to describe what it was, she said it was a headache medicine. Uh...that doesn't tell me much. Will it make me sleepy? Prolly not. Will it make me nauseous? Prolly not. I went back to the office and plugged the word in to Google...its what the rest of the world calls ordinary Tylenol.

So, picture these seemingly independent Farmacias, and someone comes in with an offer to sell them medicines. The pacaging is sealed...hey maybe the larger Farmacias would buy a whole pallet of the the meds. Everything looks like it just came from the factory. I can envision that happening where I was, which was basically a mountain resort town popular with the locals.

Now in Mexico, where things are far more corrupt, I can see uglier and nastier things happening with the medicines. But I would not be at all surprised if these meds end up on Farmacia shelves in some country or another and sold just like regular meds.

So here you have someone who's a diabetic, who's relying on insulin, and its not all its cracked up to be. But then again, the shady docs and other medical people dont care, because they're getting drugs/meds, from a different source, possibly cheaper, the dealers are getting what they want, which is cash, so in the end, its the innocent person thats the real victim.

I would be that's a particular risk with liquids. A pill that is the wrong size or color may be easily recognizable, but a liquid that you never touch? How woud you know?

 

[Carol]

Hey, maybe we could go on one of those month long cruises to all those wonderful, exotic ports.

I like it! OK, there's three of us. Is that enough to pull it off, or do we need a fourth?

 

[MJS]

Actually they don't go to doctors.

In Spain an Mexico (other countries too, but I've personally seen this in those two countries while on travel), the people on the front lines for health care are not doctors or nurses...they are pharmacists. They diagnose, prescribe meds, give injections, etc. They also recommend OTC treatments too. Patients generally only go to doctors when pharamacists cannnot treat them.

When I was in the Pyrennees on assignment my American counterpart developed an odd skin rash while we were working in a server room. He asked me to take him to the Farmacia because the pharmacist on duty spoke French and Spanish, but not English. I had gotten a headache from the noise and thought that picking up some Advil was a good idea. The pharmacist diagnosed the rash as a chemical burn. Was he around any acids or solvents? Yes, changing out the industrial sized batteries. She prescribed a cream to treat it and told him to come back in 24 hour if it didn't get better, or if it got worse. (He was fine).

She asked me what was wrong, I said just a headache, she said she recommended Paracetemol. (Paracetemol? What the...?) I asked her to describe what it was, she said it was a headache medicine. Uh...that doesn't tell me much. Will it make me sleepy? Prolly not. Will it make me nauseous? Prolly not. I went back to the office and plugged the word in to Google...its what the rest of the world calls ordinary Tylenol.

So, picture these seemingly independent Farmacias, and someone comes in with an offer to sell them medicines. The pacaging is sealed...hey maybe the larger Farmacias would buy a whole pallet of the the meds. Everything looks like it just came from the factory. I can envision that happening where I was, which was basically a mountain resort town popular with the locals.

Now in Mexico, where things are far more corrupt, I can see uglier and nastier things happening with the medicines. But I would not be at all surprised if these meds end up on Farmacia shelves in some country or another and sold just like regular meds.




I would be that's a particular risk with liquids. A pill that is the wrong size or color may be easily recognizable, but a liquid that you never touch? How woud you know?

Ahh...ok, thanks for the clarification. So, whether or not these places know the meds are stolen or not is one thing, but in the case of the insulin, which was not stored properly (when it was stolen I'm assuming) it's given to the pharmacy, unknowingly, and they're dispensing it out.

You have to wonder if they're just taking what the sellers are offering, and risking it being tainted.

 

[MJS]

I like it! OK, there's three of us. Is that enough to pull it off, or do we need a fourth?

Lets take Bob with us. He can certainly use a nice long vaca.

 

[Carol]

Ahh...ok, thanks for the clarification. So, whether or not these places know the meds are stolen or not is one thing, but in the case of the insulin, which was not stored properly (when it was stolen I'm assuming) it's given to the pharmacy, unknowingly, and they're dispensing it out.

You have to wonder if they're just taking what the sellers are offering, and risking it being tainted.

Ain't that the truth. I can see a problem like that in a place like Mexico being a bit loosey goosey. But to hear about that happening in Houston, given our controls over that sort of thing...that is scary.

 

[Big Don]

$50 says it is a movie inside of three years