Federal authorities announce additional arrests in multi-state pharmacy robbery ring

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas.– Additional arrests have been made in a multi-state pharmacy theft ring that has led to 42 people being charged in Arkansas, federal authorities announced Thursday.

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

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

“These defendants were part of a criminal organization whose goal was to enter pharmacies across the country to steal narcotics that were sold 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 robberies between February 2022 and November 2023. Investigators identified the drug trafficking organization behind the robberies as being comprised of documented local gang members from the Houston 5th Ward area.

Prosecutors said the indictment is similar to a 2016 case in which 24 members of a Houston gang were indicted for robberies of pharmacies in multiple states 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 Special Agent in Charge of the New Orleans Division. “Their goal was to sell stolen pharmaceuticals in our neighborhoods to make easy money.”