The widely publicized theft of pharmaceuticals from a Lilly distribution center in Connecticut may have generated guffaws or astonishment, but the Sopranos-like heist actually underscores a growing trend. Last year, there were 46 such thefts valued at $184 million, up from 35 worth $41 million in 2007, according to FreightWatch International. And there have been 10 this year worth roughly $110 million.

Pharmaceuticals only comprise 5 percent of thefts by volume and the average theft was valued at $4 million in 2009, surpassing all other commodity groups, although the figure is skewed by a $37 million theft that took place in Pennsylvania. Otherwise, the average would have been $2.5 million. In general, most thefts occur at truck stops or secured terminals or distribution centers, although unsecured drop lots are becoming more popular targets.

What happens to stolen meds? Generally, they’re trucked to South Florida and shipped to Latin America or Asia for sale on the black market or for counterfeiting purposes, Dan Burges, FreightWatch’s intelligence director, tells Newsweek, adding that sSome are repackaged and sold in the US, typically through ‘nefarious’ online retailers.

The Pharma Cargo Security Coalition reports there were 16 cargo losses valued at more than $500,000 in 2008 and five were eventually recovered. In 2009, there were 15 losses valued at more than $500,000 and 10 were recovered, according to FreightWatch.

Here are some other recent heists: last December: Procter & Gamble lost two full trailers from a contract manufacturers’ drop lot in Burlington, NC. The trailers contained mixed shipments of pharmaceutical and cosmetics products, and the brands included Metamucil and Olay. Alcon Labs suffered a full truckload theft of 33 pallets of over-the-counter contact lens solution Wytheville, Va. And Johnson & Johnson suffered a full truckload theft at a trucking terminal in Lehighton, Pa. The items included OTC and personal care products and had a value of around $267,000, according to SecuringPharma.

Almost 36,000 cartons of albuterol sulfate vials from Dey were stolen last August in McKinney, Tx. Teva Pharmaceuticals lost almost 1,000 cartons of Copaxone (glatiramer acetate) in a theft in April and Novo Nordisk lost 129,000 vials of Levemir (recombinant-DNA insulin) in a North Carolina robbery last spring, according to Pharmaceutical Commerce. And here’s yet another list.

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