USA's economic downturn resulting in Pharma becoming target for organized crime

According to data from FreightWatch, a USA-based freight security consultancy, rising demand in the USA for expensive medicines since the economic downturn has helped make pharmaceutical shipments a growing target for organized criminal gangs.

The data show that at least 41 robberies of prescription drugs from trucks and warehouses have taken place so far this year, with an average value of nearly $5 million. In 2009, 47 incidents worth $4 million each were recorded.

Commenting on the FreightWatch findings, the UK’s Financial Times notes that drugs have become a preferred product to steal, given the difficulty of tracking criminals, low penalties and the high value of hauls often sold on-line to patients unwilling to seek a doctor’s appointment or without health insurance to pay for their drugs.