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franconian
03-17-2010, 10:15 PM
Thieves steal $75 million in drugs
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
By JACK FLYNN
jflynn@repub.com

ENFIELD,CT. - There were no painkillers, steroids or even weight-loss pills.

When thieves struck the Eli Lilly & Co. warehouse here Sunday morning, they got a haul of anti-depressant and anti-psychotic drugs large enough to fill a tractor trailer.

Estimated value: $75 million. "Enough Prozac for a lifetime - sweet," said Erik St. Germaine, 18, of Enfield, sitting in the back of a pickup truck Tuesday, about a half mile from the warehouse.

News of the great Prozac, Zyprexa and Cymbalta heist, believed to be the largest pharmaceutical theft ever, rippled through Enfield as authorities searched for clues and suspects in the burglary.

To accomplish it, thieves scaled a wall at the warehouse, cut a hole in the roof, rappelled inside and disabled the security system to loot a large quantity of prescription drugs, authorities said. No painkillers or other narcotics were stored at the site, the Indianapolis-based company said.

As rain and heavy winds lashed the area, the thieves spent at least an hour loading about 70 pallets of drugs into a vehicle parked at the loading dock, police said.

"It was a well planned, sophisticated crime," said Edward G. Sagebiel, the drug company's director of communications, speaking from his office in Indianapolis. "When you look at it, it's pretty amazing how well planned it was."

To some residents, just the existence of the warehouse - a sprawling brick complex set back off Freshwater Boulevard, with no signs or identifying markings - was a surprise, much less that it was the target of a Mission Impossible-style break-in.

"I didn't hear anything about it, and I'm a pharmacist," said Christine Woznick, of Suffield, shopping with her daughter at Plato's Closet, a used clothing store not far from the warehouse.

By midafternoon, three security trucks were in the warehouse parking lot, and a black limousine was waiting near the front door, its motor running. At the door, an employee told a reporter from The Republican that the company had no information to offer, and then shut the door.

Besides working with local police and the FBI, the company is reviewing security at the site, one of three distribution centers run by the international drug firm, according to Sagebiel.

Another drug company, GlaxoSmithKline, had a warehouse theft in Richmond, Va., last year, and a Best Buy in New Jersey was robbed recently by intruders rappelling in from the ceiling, Sagebiel added.

The supply of Prozac, Cymbalta and other Eli Lilly-manufactured drugs will not be affected by the theft, the company said.

As for the thieves, they probably had a buyer lined up before the heist, possibly one of many Internet pharmacies, said Sagebiel and Woznick, the pharmacist.

"They'll try to sell it fast, but eventually they'll get caught," Woznick said.

majortguns
03-17-2010, 10:20 PM
Sounds like a inside job.

dakoteyah27
03-17-2010, 10:57 PM
X2! Repelled down and disarmed the alarm? Unles you work there or installed the MF'er, the common thief is not even going to bother to fuck with the alarm. Just grab and go.

Get_Swole
03-18-2010, 10:22 AM
Probably not common thieves 75 million worth of drugs these guys were more then likely pro's and alarms for professional's arent very hard to get around. Crazy shit ive never stolen a tshirt before i cant imagine jacking 75 million worth of shit from someone haha.

franconian
03-18-2010, 10:58 AM
Crazy shit I used to work right down the street from this place and about 10 years ago the building I was working at got robbed for about a million dollars in baby formula.

LeatherHead
03-18-2010, 11:39 AM
That's a lot of pills!! holy hell.

Presser
03-18-2010, 04:19 PM
What a waste no painkillers lol

NAIR
03-18-2010, 05:05 PM
wow