On Thursday, officials announced that 42 individuals were indicted in Little Rock as a result of an investigation into a multi-state pharmacy burglary conspiracy.
The 42 individuals were allegedly involved in a conspiracy that burglarized narcotics with a street value of $12 million from rural pharmacies, according to Jonathan Ross, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. The ring operated “from coast to coast.” Ross stated that the organization stole from 200 pharmacies in 31 states, with 20 of them located in Arkansas.
Ross stated that the 42 indictments announced on Thursday encompass the 18 indictments issued in December during phase one of the investigation. The investigation was entitled “#richoffmeds,” which was a hashtag that the group from Houston’s fifth ward shared.
Ross reported that 11 firearms, $79,000 in cash, and $510,000 in custom jewelry were confiscated during the arrests.
Ross stated that the organization employed the Internet to identify independent rural pharmacies. Then, they would travel to the pharmacies, breaking in through the window glass at night and low-crawling on the floor to evade motion detectors.
Ross stated that the organization concentrated on the larceny of narcotics, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, alprazolam, Xanax, Adderall, and cough syrup containing codeine.
The indictments were the outcome of the most extensive pharmacy burglary case in the annals of the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer.