SecuringPharm.com: Thieves Make Off with Two GSK Shipments

Phil Taylor in a July 14th story in SecuringPharma.com updates and provides detail to the recent in-transit cargo theft of GlaxoSmithKline products in Pennsylvania late last month.

The thefts of the two trailers had a combined value estimated at about $400,000. One trailer load of products was recovered, thanks to an on-board GPS tracking device.

According to the SecuringPharma.com story:

• The two trailer loads contained personal care products such as Aquafresh mouthwash and Sensodyne toothpaste and were taken at a logistics provider terminal in York. The thieves moved the loads to another logistics provider site, stole a tractor fitted with the GPS device, and drove one of the trailers away. It was subsequently recovered with about two-thirds of its contents in New Jersey. The other trailer remains unaccounted for, according to an update from the Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Consortium.

The SecuringPharma.com piece also included some news on two other pharmaceutical cargo thefts:

• The Florida TOMCATS - a specialist police group focusing on cargo theft - has recovered a load of around 35,000 albuterol 3ml vials worth around $500,000 which had been stolen back in August 2009. The theft occurred whilst in transit from a manufacturing site in South Carolina to a distribution centre in Texas.


• Proctor & Gamble lost a shipment of its products (assorted razors and related items) worth over $600,000 from a truckstop in Iowa on July 3. The load was being carried by shipping firm Schneider National.

The issue of pharmaceutical cargo theft energizes the need for material screening of products within the supply chain, from manufacturer to dispenser, to properly protect consumers everywhere.

As the value and prevalence increases, so too does the potential risk to consumers.

To read all of Phil Taylor’s story, visit: http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/522.php

To learn more about pharmaceutical supply chain security verification solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

SecuringPharma: Another Pharma Cargo Theft in Memphis

Shionogi suffers cargo theft on the heels of the large theft of Lupin products in Tennessee.

According to SecuringPharma.com, Shinogi a Japanese pharmaceutical company with a US division was hit by cargo thieves towards the end of May.

As reported by SecuringPharma.com:

· The theft was of two cases of its OraPred a prednisolone product stolen from a trailer parked at a truck stop in Memphis, Tennessee.

· The Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Consortium said the small amount of material stolen could mean the incident was a 'probe' – in which thieves take a small amount of material to identify what pharmaceuticals are being distributed in the area.

· PCSC also notes the incident could be linked to the theft of two pharmaceutical shipments in the Memphis area earlier in May.

This theft underscores the vulnerability of the pharmaceutical supply chain and undermines the confidence of consumers.

Secure Pharma Chain Blog, endorses the concept of all members of the supply using authentication technologies to verify their inventories and chain of custody.

To learn more about pharmaceutical supply chain solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.

To read the entire SecuringPharma.com article, visit: http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/499.php.

Smash and Grab Raid at Pharmaceutical Warehouse

Phil Taylor in a piece in SecuringPharma.com reports on a smash and grab raid of a pharmaceutical warehouse in British Columbia.

The Pharmaceutical Cargo Security Consortium has reported another pharmaceutical warehouse burglary at a wholesaler in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.

The incident occurred on April 15 and resulted in the loss of around $40,000-worth of inventory, says the PCSC, which warned recently of an upsurge in suspicious activity around pharmaceutical facilities in the wake of the $76m raid on Eli Lilly's distribution facility in Enfield, Connecticut.

According to the report from PCSC, on April 15th, five individuals broke into the wholesaler’s warehouse lobby in a smash-and-grab raid in which they attacked the warehouse, cage and vault.

To read the SecuringPharma.com story online, visit: http://www.securingpharma.com/40/articles/451.php.

The issue of pharmaceutical cargo theft energizes the need for material screening of products within the supply chain, from manufacturer to dispenser, to properly protect consumers everywhere.

As the value and prevalence increases, so too does the potential risk to consumers.

To learn more about material screening/anti-counterfeiting solutions, visit: http://www.xstreamsystems.net/.