Texas-based drug traffickers burglarized hundreds of U.S. pharmacies, including Utah
Aug 30, 2024, 11:47 AM | Updated: 12:02 pm
FILE - A number of 5-mg pills of Oxycodone are displayed on June 17, 2019. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File)
SALT LAKE CITY — The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced Thursday the results of a 21-month investigation into a Houston-based drug trafficking organization. The DEA and U.S. Attorney’s Office said this covert organization was tied to hundreds of pharmacy burglaries across the U.S., including Utah.
The announcement highlighted the second phase of the investigation, for which the first phase yielded 18 arrests in November 2023. It was based heavily out of Little Rock, Arkansas, and ultimately tied the 18 Texas people to more than 20 pharmacy burglaries in Arkansas.
The second phase tied an additional 24 members of the drug operation in Houston to pharmacy burglaries in 31 states across the country. In total, the investigation put 42 members of the drug ring behind bars, the DEA said.
Members of the drug operation worked to burglarize pharmacies all over the U.S., transport them back to Houston where they were then illegally sold.
“This Houston-based network targeted rural pharmacies, stealing powerful drugs like oxycodone, xanax and adderall to flood the streets,” said DEA Administrator Anne Milgram. “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.”
The burglaries also targeted hydrocodone, alprazolam and promethazine with codeine cough syrup, the DEA said.
The names of those arrested were not released.
Local DEA agents with the Rocky Mountain Field Division said the Eastern District of Arkansas asked officials not to disclose the exact locations of the pharmacies in Utah that were involved in the case. But the division’s Public Information Officer Steffan Tubbs said they would release some staggering numbers showing pharmacy theft in the state over the past three years:
- 2022: Utah was ranked and tied for 20th place in the U.S. for pharmacy burglaries in the state. There were only two burglaries
- 2023: Utah was ranked 13th in the U.S. with 15 total burglaries
- 2024: From January through July, Utah is tied with Arizona for 10th place with seven pharmacy burglaries
