You have to figure that whoever cut a hole in the roof at an Eli Lilly warehouse earlier this year had to be organized - and in more than one sense of the word (see here). But it's not just your run-of-the-mill Sopranos wannabe who has recently calculated the upside in stealing prescription meds. An increasing number of cargo thefts are taking place South of the Border and guess who is believed responsible? The aptly named drug cartels.
Mexico, in fact, is becoming a hot spot for cargo theft, according to SecuringPharma, which cites data from FreightWatch International, a security firm. Although there were only six such acts of thievery in this year's second quarter, that was double the number in the first quarter. Why? The rise is attributed to cartels looking for "high-value shipments" to compensate for losses in their usual trade as law enforcement attempts a crackdown.
However, the number of pharma thefts is nowhere the number of heists involving building and industrial materials, which also experienced a big spike. Just the same, the there are more instances of driver collusion and thefts along main highways, suggesting greater violence takes place. After all, you gotta figure there is a fence waiting somewhere in New Jersey for a few pallets of pills. And no prescription is required.