Bulk Medicine Theft from Manufacturer in Australia
An Australian pharmaceutical company was broken into and robbed of almost 260 pounds of prescription medication on March 7, 2011.
The Australian company, Jalco Group, was robbed of 110 pounds of pseudoephedrine and 150 pounds o opioid analgesic codeine estimated by the police to be worth be resold on the street for $43 milion, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
A group of three people covered in balaclavas penetrated the barbed wire fence and entered the brick company complex at 1am on Sunday. Inside the thieves cut the phone lines and broke the alarm. This gave them two hours to break through a concrete wall into the building’s safe where the medicines were stored.
Campsie Acting Inspector Michael Stewart said that the level of planning showed the thieves knew the drugs were inside.
Reports Securing Pharma, “The International Narcotics Control Board recently issued a report highlighting the importance of preventing illegal diversion of drug precursors, amongst other measures, in the fight against the illegal drugs trade.”
The report, available here, says that “The highest levels of consumption of opioid analgesics are reported in countries in North America and Europe.”