Gunmen raid US pharmaceutical distribution facility

Three armed men raided a pharmaceutical distribution centre in Memphis, Tennessee, on Friday, making off with vans containing an estimated $200,000-worth of medicinal products.

The case provides another reminder of the need for added caution in the build-up to the holiday period, a time when there is an increase in shipping - and theft - activity.

It also ties in with what appears to be a trend towards a rising number of cases in which weapons and violent tactics are employed by criminals targeting the supply chain.

Thanks to the use of covert tracking devices secreted in the pharmaceutical loads, in this case the suspect and stolen products were quickly traced to a house in Memphis, where police were able to recover the goods and apprehend two men. A third evaded custody and is still at large.

The men entered the Hackbarth Delivery Service facility at around 5 a.m. on Friday, as the dock doors were rolled up. They held eight people at gunpoint, stole cash and mobile phones, stripped them and locked them in a fenced area. They then proceeded to drive away with three delivery vans full of prescription pharmaceuticals.

The two detained men are Ralph Jones and Patrick Dotson. Both have been held with bonds of $1m.

Hackbarth Delivery Services is a 35-year-old company offering freighting and logistics services from 18 facilities in southeast USA, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee. The firm operates 17 warehouse terminals with over 100,000 sq. ft. of storage.