Pine Bluff Police are investigating two “coordinated” burglaries at pharmacies that occurred Wednesday, including theft of chemotherapy medication reportedly valued at $17,600.
Police say both incidents involved suspects using forced entry, disabled or ineffective alarms and crawling to avoid detection.
The first incident occurred at Doctor’s Orders Pharmacy, 2302 W. 28th Ave., at around 4:12 a.m., when police say suspects broke a window to gain entry. Surveillance video shows two masked individuals entering shortly afterward and crawling on the floor, according to police. The chemo medication vial was reportedly stolen at this location.
“I’m sure they were looking for Promethazine with codeine,” said Lelan Stice, owner of the Doctor’s Orders chain of pharmacies in southeast Arkansas. He explained Promethazine DM is used as a cough suppressant.
“We keep them in a safe in the pharmacy so they can’t break into it,” Stice said, adding that such storage is not a federal requirement. “We had it at one store and we’re not keeping it anymore.”
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Stice explained a lot of forged prescriptions for the drug have occurred, and he helped police break up a forgery ring about two months ago.
Promethazine with codeine, Stice said, is used with vodka to make a product known on the streets as “lean,” Stice explained. Stice referred to “lean” being popularized by rapper Lil’ Wayne in the 2010s.
“It causes you to get pretty messed up,” Stice said. “That’s why they call it ‘lean’ because you can’t walk straight.”
Pine Bluff Police posted a 75-second video on Facebook captured from Stice’s pharmacy, he confirmed. Stice said he believes a suspect was trying to open the cash drawers when two computers were turned on instead. The suspect walks out of view about 5 seconds before the footage ends.
Stice posted on Facebook the glass break sensor was defective at his pharmacy and criminals did not have pass codes or disable the alarm system. An alarm company replaced the system the day of the burglary, he said.
“Definitely not someone that used to work for us,” Stice posted. “They spent 45 minutes searching shelves. Someone that had worked for us would have known exactly where to go for what they were looking for. Most pharmacy thieves are after narcotics or Promethazine with Codeine. Doctor’s Orders Pharmacy does not stock Promethazine with codeine any longer due to the actions last night (early Wednesday) and the amount of forged prescriptions that follow this medication.”
Officers responding to the second incident at Flowers Pharmacy, 1401 S. State St., discovered entry was made through a side window, according to police. Stolen items reportedly included Hydrocodone, $3,000 in silver coins, $100 in cash, a pint of Phenergan, which is one of the brand names of Promethazine, with codeine and a black .38-caliber pistol.
Pharmacy owner Clifford Flowers said he was not aware of a motive “other than stealing some drugs.”
The burglaries have not affected business hours at either location, the pharmacists confirmed.
Police urge local businesses to review and upgrade security systems, due to what they call the targeted and strategic nature of the crimes. Anyone with information on the burglaries is asked to call the PBPD detective office tip line at (870) 730-2106, the detective office at 730-2090 or the dispatch center at 541-5300.