Current:Home > NewsFederal authorities announce additional arrests in multistate pharmacy burglary ring-LoTradeCoin
Federal authorities announce additional arrests in multistate pharmacy burglary ring
View Date:2024-12-24 10:29:46
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Additional arrests have been made in a multistate pharmacy burglary ring that has led to 42 people being indicted in Arkansas, federal authorities announced Thursday.
Federal prosecutors said 24 people were arrested in Houston in July, and some appeared in federal court in Little Rock on Thursday on conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute charges. The charges were part of a new indictment that began with 18 people from the Houston area being charged in November.
The Drug Enforcement Administration said the defendants were linked to 200 pharmacy burglaries in 31 states, including Arkansas. The stolen drugs included oxycodone and hydrocodone and were transported to Houston, where they were sold illegally.
“These defendants were part of a criminal organization whose objective was to break into pharmacies nationwide to steal narcotics that they peddled on the streets,” said Jonathan D. Ross, United States attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
The investigation began when the DEA identified more than 20 pharmacy burglaries between February 2022 and November 2023. Investigators identified the drug trafficking organization behind the burglaries as comprised of documented local gang members from Houston’s 5th Ward area.
Prosecutors said the indictment is similar to 2016 case in which 24 members of a Houston gang were prosecuted for multistate pharmacy burglaries and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.
“This criminal organization prioritized money and greed over the safety and well-being of the American people,” said Steven Hofer, DEA’s special agent in charge for the New Orleans Division. “Their goal was to sell stolen pharmaceuticals in our neighborhoods for easy money.”
veryGood! (5)
Related
- NFL power rankings Week 11: Steelers, Eagles enjoying stealthy rises
- Amy Robach Returns to Instagram Nearly a Year After Her and T.J. Holmes' GMA3 Scandal
- Jessie James Decker Shares Pregnancy Reaction After Husband Eric's Vasectomy Didn't Happen
- Simone Biles' record eighth US gymnastics title will be one to remember
- About Charles Hanover
- Cardinals QB shakeup: Kyler Murray to start season on PUP list, Colt McCoy released
- Man charged with cyberstalking ex-girlfriend and her boyfriend while posing as different ex
- What are the hurricane categories and what do they mean? Here's a breakdown of the scale and wind speeds
- West Virginia expands education savings account program for military families
- France’s education minister bans long robes in classrooms. They’re worn mainly by Muslims
Ranking
- Review: 'Emilia Pérez' is the most wildly original film you'll see in 2024
- Alumni grieve for Jesuit-run university seized by Nicaraguan government that transformed their lives
- A Milwaukee bar is offering free booze every time Aaron Rodgers and the Jets lose
- The Fate of The Idol Revealed Following Season One
- 'This dude is cool': 'Cross' star Aldis Hodge brings realism to literary detective
- Stock market today: Asian shares mostly rise as attention turns to earnings, economies
- Bachelor Nation's Hannah Brown Engaged to Adam Woolard
- One faculty member dead following shooting and hours-long lockdown at UNC Chapel Hill
Recommendation
-
Minnesota county to pay $3.4M to end lawsuit over detainee’s death
-
Preliminary hearing in Jackson Mahomes’ felony case delayed because judge has COVID-19
-
Maria Sakkari complains about marijuana smell during US Open upset: 'The smell, oh my gosh'
-
Bachelor Nation's Hannah Brown Engaged to Adam Woolard
-
UFC 309: Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic fight card, odds, how to watch, date
-
'Like a baseball bat to the kneecaps': Michigan's Jim Harbaugh weighs in on suspension
-
American Airlines hit with record fine for keeping passengers on tarmac for hours
-
Police in Ohio fatally shot a pregnant shoplifting suspect