US bill seeks tough penalties for medicine theft

A bill introduced in the US Senate earlier this month is seeking tougher, unified legal redress for individuals who participate in thefts of medical products.

Senator Charles Schumer is the lead signatory on the bill, which is designed to tackle organised theft and misappropriation of prescription drugs, and particularly opioids and other medicines prone to abuse.

Speaking ahead of the introduction of the bill, Sen. Schumer said: "All too often, drugs that end up on our streets are either stolen or obtained by doctor shopping, creating a robust supply chain that puts more and more prescription drugs in our neighbourhoods, our schools, and on our streets."

"My plan provides enhanced sentencing and additional tools for law enforcement to crackdown on criminals peddling prescription drugs, and deters others from following suit."

The Bill would amend Chapter 31 of the US Code to increase fines and jail terms for theft and other criminal acts which take genuine medical products out of the supply chain.

It would also give law enforcement agencies license to use measures such as wire taps more easily and place pharmaceutical theft under the 1970 'RICO' (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations) law, recognizing the increasing role of organized crime networks in the activity.

The bill sets a range of jail terms - from one to 20 years - depending on the value of goods stolen and other factors such as the use of violence and whether individuals are injured as a result of the theft, for example by being deprived of treatment or harmed by use of a stolen or expired product. Financial penalties would range from three times the economic loss attributable to the theft or $1m, whichever is greater.

Jail terms are also doubled for related offenses such as racketeering, breaking or entering premises and receiving stolen property.

NICB data published

The bill comes amid concerns that criminal organisations in the USA are increasingly targeting pharmaceuticals - and particularly goods in transit - because of the generally high-value of shipments. Data released recently from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) indicated that there were 29 pharma cargo thefts in 2010, ranked 10th by goods type.

While it does not give a breakdown of the value of shipments by commodity, it estimates the total value across all industries at $171 million. Because it focuses on in-transit shipments the tally does not include notable pharma theft examples such as the $76m raid on Eli Lilly's Connecticut warehouse in March 2010 (see Eli Lilly warehouse thieves make off with $76m haul).

[Ed. In case the Lilly case might be considered a one-off, it's worth pointing out that another pharma warehouse in Massachusetts was targeted by thieves earlier this month. On this occasion the criminals were deterred by security measures.]

According to the NICB report, the most-targeted shipments were electronics, food and clothing which are relatively easy to sell on. Interestingly, bundling pharmaceutical shipments with 'para-pharmaceutical' items which follow similar distribution channels - infant formula, over-the-counter drugs, medical supplies and controlled medicines - gives a combined total of 48 and a sixth-place ranking.