Federal authorities have arrested dozens of members of a Texas-based drug trafficking organization, in an operation aimed at busting the “largest known pharmacy burglary ring” in the history of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).
According to the official announcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas and DEA representatives on Aug. 29, around two dozen people were arrested in July in Houston, after a yearslong investigation.
The July drug bust marked phase two of “Operation #Richoffmeds.” The first phase of the operation was initiated in December last year, according to U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross, who spoke at a news conference.
Ross said the majority of the defendants appeared in federal court in Little Rock on Aug. 29, while the remaining defendants are scheduled to appear next month.
Operation #Richoffmeds commenced after authorities began investigating nearly two dozen burglaries and thefts of pharmaceutical narcotics in Arkansas, which occurred between February 2022 and November 2023, and all of which were conducted in a similar fashion, according to prosecutors.
This led to the arrest of 18 people in November, who faced accusations of narcotics theft exceeding $1.5 million.
Further investigation revealed a criminal operation that spanned across over 30 states, in which all 42 defendants participated to conduct burglaries in over 200 pharmacies, with nearly a dozen located in the Eastern District of Arkansas, according to Ross.
Among the stolen narcotics were multiple types of prescription opioids, which included oxycodone, Xanax, and hydrocodone.
According to DEA Administrator Anne Milgram, the drug traffickers mainly targeted rural pharmacies to carry out the burglaries.
“This Houston-based network targeted rural pharmacies, stealing powerful drugs like Oxycodone, Xanax, and Adderall to flood the streets,” she said in a statement.
The stolen narcotics were subsequently shipped to Houston, where they were sold illegally.
“These criminals even crawled on floors to dodge security, but they couldn’t escape us. We dismantled their entire operation-street dealers, burglars, and all. In the fight against the opioid epidemic, the DEA is relentless in shutting down those who profit from fueling addiction,” Milgram added.
According to Steven Hofer, DEA’s special agent in charge for the New Orleans Division, the recent arrests mark a big milestone in the ongoing fight against illegal drug operations.
“This organization sought to sell these stolen pharmaceuticals in the same way criminals traffic fentanyl and methamphetamine in our neighborhoods,” Hofer said at the news conference.
Moreover, close to a thousand burglaries of independent pharmacies were reported throughout 2023, according to Hofer, which comes on top of a surge of burglaries in recent years.
“As a result, pharmacies lost almost 3.8 million doses of controlled substances. This equates to more than $12 million in profits,” Hofer said.
According to Hofer, these thefts have also contributed to drug shortages, which have put the lives of millions of people at risk.
“Millions of Americans rely on their prescription medications every day, and when those drugs are not available, the well-being of our communities suffer,” he said. “These criminal groups wreak havoc in the local communities to bring easy money into their organizations.”