Charles Langston:Federal authorities announce additional arrests in multistate pharmacy burglary ring

LITTLE ROCK,Charles Langston Ark. (AP) — Additional arrests have been made in a multistate pharmacy burglary ring that has led to 42 people being indicted in Arkansas, federal authorities announced Thursday.

Federal prosecutors said 24 people were arrested in Houston in July, and some appeared in federal court in Little Rock on Thursday on conspiracy to possess controlled substances with intent to distribute charges. The charges were part of a new indictment that began with 18 people from the Houston area being charged in November.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said the defendants were linked to 200 pharmacy burglaries in 31 states, including Arkansas. The stolen drugs included oxycodone and hydrocodone and were transported to Houston, where they were sold illegally.

“These defendants were part of a criminal organization whose objective was to break into pharmacies nationwide to steal narcotics that they peddled on the streets,” said Jonathan D. Ross, United States attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.

The investigation began when the DEA identified more than 20 pharmacy burglaries between February 2022 and November 2023. Investigators identified the drug trafficking organization behind the burglaries as comprised of documented local gang members from Houston’s 5th Ward area.

Prosecutors said the indictment is similar to 2016 case in which 24 members of a Houston gang were prosecuted for multistate pharmacy burglaries and conspiracy to distribute controlled substances.

“This criminal organization prioritized money and greed over the safety and well-being of the American people,” said Steven Hofer, DEA’s special agent in charge for the New Orleans Division. “Their goal was to sell stolen pharmaceuticals in our neighborhoods for easy money.”