How To Steal Drugs: Cut A Hole In Lilly’s Roof
10 CommentsBy Ed Silverman // March 16th, 2010 // 7:32 am
That’s what some enterprising thieves did over the weekend in Enfield, Ct., where the drugmaker maintains a non-descript building that actually functions as a distribution hub, according to local news reports. Unlike bank robbers who tunnel into a vault from below, this gang successfully clamored onto the roof, jumped in and drove off with about 70 pallets of Eli Lilly meds worth up to $75 million.
“The hole was very high up and there was no way they you would be able to leap to the floor,” Enfield Police Chief Carl Sferrazza tells WISH-TV. “I don’t want to get into the specific evidence that we found there but we believe that is how they gain entry into the building. We don’t have a list of exactly what they took; there are pain killers involved; all prescription drugs - that is the kind of narcotics that are housed there.”
Like something right out of The Sopranos, yes? Next time that supply of Cialis seems awfully cheap, you’ll know why.
SFM
Nice to know that pharma co’s safeguard their products so well.
Eyes rolling.
Jack Friday
http://pharmagossip.blogspot.com/2010/03/who-stole-lillys-drugs.html
Bada bing!
harpy
wonder if they got the idea from these guys
Josh
SFM….not much different than a pharmacy or any other company that deals with goods.
What do you want? Machine gun turrets?
Lisa Van Syckel
Josh Eli Lilly, isnt a pharmacy, they have the cash for top of the art security, theyr’e idiots!!
Josh
Top of the art security for a warehouse? Not sure about the size, but it is a little tough to cover that much area for cheap.
Is Eli Lilly stupid….yeah….at least have a security firm patrol. I know we have that and off-duty police on site because we carry controlled substances.
Anne PME
Seems very similar to the Mansfield MASS break in of AMerisource Bergen in 2006.
At least Eli Lilly probably knows what was stolen. Despite the fact that the weekend was approaching, ABC had not yet booked the prescription medicines into inventory when someone broke into by cutting a hole in the roof and stole medicines including prescription narcotics. The estimated street balue was ‘millions’ The state police finally cracked the case at the end of last year. No one bothered to call the MASS Board of Pharmacy/pharmacy inspectors after the break in.
http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2009/01/27/news/4310784.txt
smitty werbenmanjensen
Pedant time:
I think you mean “clambered.”
/pedant
pharmavet
I never had time to verify this story, so take it for what it’s worth. When I started working for Abbott in 1983, we had the usual orientation program, with a particular emphasis on drug abuse. During one of the breaks, I asked someone why the heavy emphasis on that area. I was told that previously, someone had pulled up a truck to one of the loading docks and made off with a large supply of Nembutal. In an instant, Abbott became the largest supplier of barbiturates on the North Shore of Chicago. Definitiely an inside job. Again, can’t verify, but sounds like inside job here too.
Anne PME
You know, I cannot help but wondering if these types of secuirity issues are happening in the US, what type of secuirity issues are they dealing with now that so many finished dosages forms and/or drug components arwe outsourced?