Suspects Nabbed in Record-Setting Pharmaceutical Heist
A pharmaceutical robbery in 2010 had all the trappings of a Hollywood-inspired heist: thieves breaking into a secure facility, tens of millions of dollars in stolen product and a cold trail. Now, that heist is getting something else: an ending.
Authorities had been left stunned after a March 2010 heist in Connecticut left $80 million in pharmaceutical products from an Eli Lilly warehouse missing-a heist so large it may be the largest theft of pharmaceutical products in US history.
Suspects in the case had been lacking since then, but a 2011 discovery of the stolen drug product in a Florida storage facility re-ignited the hunt for suspects, who were unveiled on 3 May by federal authorities.
The US Attorney's office announced the capture of two suspects, Amed and Amaury Villa, who were tracked down after authorities said they found a fingerprint on a water bottle left at the scene of the crime.
The two suspects-brothers-have also been implicated in a number of other pharmaceutical robberies, including stealing drugs from a GlaxoSmithKline facility in Virginia, reports MSNBC.
The drugs recovered from the Florida storage facility will be destroyed, Eli Lilly said in a statement.
Read more:
MSNBC - Cuban brothers arrested in biggest-ever pharmaceutical heist
Modern Healthcare - Busts made in Lilly drug theft
Securing Pharma - Pharmaceuticals stolen in $76m warehouse raid recovered
The New York Times - 2 Brothers Accused in Huge Theft of Prescription Drugs