Chief Hodges (r.), along with Det. Snodgrass (4th from right with beard) and Det. Derrick (2nd from right with glasses), represented BNPD. Photo by BNPD.
Video transcript follows article below.
On August 29, 2024, U.S. Attorney Jonathan D. Ross for the Eastern District of Arkansas held a press conference to announce a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) investigation that targeted the largest known pharmacy burglary ring in DEA history. Over 50 defendants are allegedly responsible for over 200 burglaries in 31 states, mostly targeting small, “mom-and-pop” pharmacies.
Members of Benton PD, Bryant PD and other local and state agencies joined representatives of the DEA and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the announcement of the results of a 21-month investigation into a Houston-based drug trafficking organization responsible for hundreds of pharmacy burglaries across the country.
Video transcript follows article below.
Photo by BNPD.
Chief Hodges, along with Det. Snodgrass and Det. Derrick, represented BNPD in the line-up. Detectives Snodgrass and Derrick were assigned the local cases linked to the larger crime ring. BNPD Patrol initially made the arrests of the suspects in the local burglaries, and BNPD Criminal Investigations Division did a deep dive from there.
Overall, the investigation uncovered the largest pharmacy burglary ring in DEA history, which led to 42 suspects being indicted in Arkansas. The investigation remains ongoing.
You can read more about the operation in the full press release below:
Sweeping DEA Operation Targets Pharmacy Burglaries and the Illegal Sale of Addictive Prescription Medications
Ending the Diversion and Illegal Sale of Controlled Substances Remains a Top Priority for DEA
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has seen an increase in burglaries at independent pharmacies across the country. Nearly 900 burglaries involving the theft of controlled substances were reported to DEA in 2023. Stolen prescription medications adversely impact these small businesses while also putting patients and the community at risk.
Earlier today in the Eastern District of Arkansas, representatives from DEA joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office to announce the results of a 21-month investigation into a Houston-based drug trafficking organization (DTO) responsible for hundreds of pharmacy burglaries across the country.
The culmination of this investigation led to the arrest of an additional 24 members of the DTO last month in Houston, bringing the total number of people facing charges connected to this drug ring to 42. The results of the first phase of this operation were announced in December.
DEA’s Little Rock District Office led the investigation after identifying a string of pharmacy burglaries and thefts of pharmaceutical medications throughout Arkansas. With the assistance of DEA’s Special Operations Division, this organization has been linked to more than 200 pharmacy burglaries across the United States, including Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Oxycodone, hydrocodone, alprazolam, and promethazine with codeine cough syrup were among the most common controlled substances stolen and transported to Houston to be sold illegally.
“From November 2023 to July 2024, the DEA, with our law enforcement partners, took down 42 individuals behind nearly 200 pharmacy burglaries in 31 states. This Houston-based network targeted rural pharmacies, stealing powerful drugs like Oxycodone, Xanax, and Adderall to flood the streets,” said 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.”
In addition to today’s announcement, DEA has released a safety alert video and additional resources to help protect against pharmacy burglaries.
This operation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.
Preventing the Diversion of Controlled Substances
DEA is responsible for preventing, detecting, and investigating the diversion of controlled substances and listed chemicals, as well as regulating the nearly two million DEA registrants that manufacture, distribute, import or export controlled substances. Under the authority of the controlled substances laws and regulations of the United States, DEA uses a range of tools, including both criminal and administrative penalties, to protect our communities from the harms of illegally distributed controlled substances.
Recent notable actions against DEA registrants to ensure the safety and health of Americans include:
- Earlier this month, charges were announced against two doctors, Dr. Salvador Plasencia and Dr. Mark Chavez, and three others in connection to the death of actor Matthew Perry. Dr. Plasencia is charged with seven counts of distribution of ketamine and two counts of altering and falsifying documents or records related to a federal investigation. Dr. Chavez has agreed to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute ketamine. At the time of the announcement DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said, “Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials.”
- In July 2024, Rite Aid Corporation agreed to a settlement following DEA’s claims that it knowingly dispensed hundreds of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances, including excessive quantities of opioids.
- In June 2024, Ruthia He, the founder and CEO of DONE Global, Inc., and David Brody, the clinical president of DONE Health, were arrested on charges of allegedly operating an online telehealth website that distributed Adderall and other stimulants in exchange for a monthly subscription fee. At the time of the arrests, Administrator Milgram said, “Diversion of Adderall and other prescription stimulants pills to persons who have no medical need only exacerbates the [stimulant] shortage and hurts any American with a legitimate medical need for the drug.” Several associates of DONE are also facing charges for their alleged participation in the scheme.
- In February 2024, DEA announced a settlement with pharmaceutical distributor Morris & Dickson Co., LLC, for failing to maintain effective controls against drug diversion and for failing to report thousands of suspicious orders for oxycodone and hydrocodone.
- In October 2023, DEA announced Operation Bottleneck, which resulted in administrative actions against six DEA-registered companies. Collectively, the companies failed to account for more than a million doses of opioids. “These companies have a legal obligation to account for every dose and every pill to protect the safety and health of the American people,” Administrator Milgram said in a statement.
- In December 2022, DEA served an Order to Show Cause on Truepill, a retail pharmacy alleged to have wrongfully filled thousands of prescriptions for stimulants used in the treatment of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Last year, DEA announced it reached a settlement agreement with Truepill after the company accepted responsibility for operating an unregistered online pharmacy.
- Since 2021, DEA has hosted Virtual Diversion Awareness Trainings (VDATs) available to all DEA-registered practitioners, including doctors, veterinarians, dentists, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. The VDAT is designed to provide practitioners with important information, key resources, and tools to assist in the prevention of prescription drug diversion. To date, DEA has trained more than 45,000 registrants who attended the VDATs.
- Since 2011, DEA has provided in-person and virtual drug diversion training opportunities to more than 32,000 pharmacists nationwide. These trainings help pharmacists identify signs of drug diversion and provide resources to help protect them from theft. In addition, DEA participates in and provides training for the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and other national and state pharmacy associations.
- Since 2010, DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Initiative has removed nearly 18.6 million pounds of unneeded prescription medications from communities. Removing unneeded medications from the home significantly reduces the opportunity for theft and misuse. DEA launched its newest diversion prevention campaign, Make Every Day Take Back Day, in December 2023 to encourage the use of the nearly 17,000 year-round disposal sites across the country.
In addition to these actions, DEA’s ongoing diversion prevention efforts include:
For more information on DEA’s diversion prevention efforts and resources, visit: DEA Diversion Control Division (usdoj.gov).
Video Transcript:
Well, hello. Good afternoon. My name is Paulette Chapelle, and I’m the public information officer and law enforcement coordinator for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Thank you for being here today. And if you have not done so already, please silence your cell phones. This afternoon you will hear from U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ross and also, you will be able to hear from another federal agency, the Drug Enforcement Administration. And I will let U.S. Attorney Ross introduce the special agent in charge of the DEA’s New Orleans Division.
Also joining us today are other law enforcement partners FBI, U.S. Marshals Service, Arkansas State Police, Bryant Police Department, Benton Police Department, Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Houston Police Department, Arkansas State Police, and other law enforcement agencies. Following the remarks, you will be able to ask questions. So at this time, I’m going to turn it over to U.S. Attorney Ross.
Good afternoon. We are here today to announce what has become the largest case involving pharmacy burglaries in DEA history, an indictment of 42 defendants who worked together to burglarize over 200 pharmacies across 31 states, including more than 11 pharmacies located right here in the Eastern District of Arkansas. Today’s announcement is the second public announcement about this case.
In December, we announced phase one of Operation #RichOffMeds, in which we inform the public about only burglaries of Arkansas pharmacies by a group of defendants from the fifth Ward in Houston, Texas. We told you then that this investigation would continue, and today we’re ready to tell you about the second phase, which has expanded from 20 pharmacies in Arkansas to now, over 200 pharmacies across 30 additional states. As we know, the opioid epidemic is still with us. 107,543 Americans died from drug overdose deaths in 2023, of which 81,083 were due to opioids.
Theft and illegal distribution of prescription opioid and other scheduled medications fuels the addiction and overdose crisis throughout the United States, and theft and illegal distribution of prescription opioid and other scheduled medications. Results in millions of dollars in proceeds to criminal organizations perpetuating dangerous criminal activity.
This case involves an organized crime ring from the Houston, Texas area that targeted independent non-chain pharmacies throughout the United States for theft of opioid medications such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, other prescription drugs such as Xanax and Adderall, and promethazine with codeine cough syrup.
The perpetrators use the internet to scout out rural pharmacy locations. They travel by rental car or commercial airlines from Houston to cities coast to coast, where in the early morning hours they would shatter glass at pharmacy locations low crawl on the floor to evade motion detectors, and systematically remove dangerous opioid benzodiazepines. Promethazine with codeine and other scheduled medication from the pharmacy shelves.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of pills and gallons of promethazine cough syrup were returned and distributed on the streets of Houston, Texas. The street value of the controlled substances stolen in the burglaries is estimated at this time to be $12 million.
On November 28th of 2023, the little Rock DEA, along with numerous state and local law enforcement partners in Houston, Texas, arrested 18 organization members charged in the initial indictment with crimes committed here in the Eastern District of Arkansas. And on July 2nd of this year, a superseding indictment was returned by the grand jury in the Eastern District of Arkansas, charging 24 additional defendants in the conspiracy to distribute controlled substances for acts that occurred nationwide.
Most of these defendants are appearing in US District Court here in little Rock this afternoon, and the remaining defendants will appear in September. During their arrest operations in Houston, law enforcement seized 11 firearms, approximately $79,000 in U.S. currency and custom jewelry, retailing at approximately $510,000, which are proceeds from the sale of stolen pharmaceutical drugs.
This indictment is the result of countless hours and remarkable work by the DEA pharmaceutical Diversion team here in little Rock, and a testament to their cooperation with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies throughout the country. This effort is part of an organized crime, drug and tax enforcement Task Force that identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest level criminal organizations that threaten the United States.
Special acknowledgment to our lead investigators at the DEA on this case, DEA diversion investigators Eli Fowlkes and Matt Bissonette. We want to thank you also to numerous people here in attendance, and also some who could not be here in attendance today. We’ve got the special agent in charge of the New Orleans Field Division, Steven Hofer. The DEA diversion program manager out of New Orleans, Connie Overton, out of our DEA little Rock district office. Assistant special agent in charge Jared Harper, diversion group supervisor Ervin Reeves from the U.S. marshals office. Deputy United States Marshal Jeremy Hammonds from Arkansas State Police. Colonel Mike Hager, Major Stacy Rhodes, and Trooper Steven Briggs.
We also have representatives from the Bryant Police Department, the Benton Police Department to include Chief Scotty Hodges, the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics agent Nicholas Chaffin, and also representative representatives of the Houston Police Department, as well as the Bryant Police Department, which I already said.
I want to also say that an investigation and indictment of this kind represents the best results of cooperation and collaboration by law enforcement personnel and prosecutors working within the appropriate oversight from the judicial branch. It continues to be the mission of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas to disrupt organized criminal networks and to protect the public from the unlawful distribution of dangerous narcotics. And because of the phase that we are in at this time, I must remind the public that an indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
And with that, I will introduce you to Special Agent in Charge from the New Orleans Field Division, which covers the little Rock area, the entire Arkansas area. Special Agent in Charge Steven Hofer.
Thank you. As mentioned, I’m special agent in charge Steven Hofer for the new Orleans division of the Drug Enforcement Administration. I’m honored to be here today from from New Orleans as our representative for our four states Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Arkansas. I’ve worked as a special agent for more than 20 years. And what I found is that every day in every single DEA office across the country, both special agents and diversion investigators work complex cases just like this one.
And today, I could I could not be more pleased to recognize the amazing work that that originated with the diversion investigators right here in little Rock. DEA diversion Control Division is full of investigators that regulate how controlled pharmaceuticals are distributed, and sometimes they find out that criminal behavior interferes with that process. Today’s announcement marks a significant victory in the ongoing fight against criminal drug trafficking organizations that caused this interference. Because this is the largest pharmaceutical burglary case in DEA history.
This was an investigation that spanned nearly three years. It was complex, and it highlights the great work happening in DEA across all of our offices in the country, especially right here in little Rock. Today’s announcement would not be possible without the help of our distinguished law enforcement partners at the state, local and federal level. Through this extensive team work and the DA’s investigative efforts, we were able to link this drug trafficking organization to more than 200 pharmacy burglaries across 31 states.
As you’ve heard, this case focuses on legitimate medications being stolen and sold for illegitimate purposes. I realize that you may be used to us at DEA talking about illegal drugs such as fentanyl and methamphetamine, but this case is just as dangerous, profitable, and important. When these stolen medications fall into the wrong hands, they are just as threatening to our community because of their potential for misuse and abuse.
This organization sought to sell these stolen pharmaceuticals in the same way criminal criminals, traffic fentanyl and methamphetamine in our neighborhoods. In this case, criminals stole and sold on the streets oxycodone, hydrocodone. Xanax. Adderall. Promethazine with codeine, and other drugs that can be dangerous when they’re in the wrong hands and taken outside their intended us.
DEA has seen a surge in burglaries of controlled substances, as at independent non-chain pharmacies across the country. Last year alone, 900 burglaries were reported as a. As a result, pharmacies lost almost 3.8 million doses of controlled substances. This equates to more than $12 million in in profits. This criminal organization prioritized money and greed over the safety and well-being of the American people. Millions of Americans rely on their prescription medications every day, and when those drugs are not available, the well-being of our communities suffer.
These criminals, these criminal groups wreaked havoc in the local communities to bring easy money into their organizations. In closing, let today’s announcement serve as an important reminder for anyone thinking about committing one of these crimes. The safety and health of the American people is DEA’s top priority, and we will not tolerate anyone who puts money ahead of the community well-being. Thank you.
Thank you. U.S. Attorney Ross and SAC Hofer. At this time, we will open the floor for questions. But prior to opening the floor for questions, I do want to remind you that other than the press release and the indictment that you have been provided at this time, we are not able to share any other documents or other material with you. So do we have any questions for U.S. Attorney Ross or SAC Hofer?
Yes. How many pharmacies in Arkansas were are believed to have been represented by 2020 total?
13 in the Eastern District and the rest are in the Western District.
I don’t guess you’re able to give any specifics on which pharmacies in Arkansas.
Not at this time.
Any other questions? No more questions.
We want to thank you so much for coming out today. And I’m available after this press conference. U.S. Attorney Ross is available as well as SAC Hofer. If you would like to speak with one of them at the end of this, press conference. Thank you very much. Have a good day. And all those that have the visitors badges, you can just leave them on the table and I’ll pick them up, and that’ll save you a trip from going back to the fifth floor to return them to the receptionist. So thank you very much.