Feds: Arrests in $80M Prescription Drug Heist
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Authorities have arrested two brothers in the theft of about $80 million in prescription drugs from a Connecticut warehouse in 2010. Experts have described the Eli Lilly & Co. warehouse theft as one of the biggest pharmaceutical heists in history. (May 3)

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This video contains ONLY natural sound. No script is available.[Notes:WTNH video building exteriors; Enfield Connecticut -- March 2010][Notes:Pool video -- New Haven, Connecticut -- May 3, 2012]SOT David Fein, U.S. Attorney: "A little more than two years ago on a weekend in March 2010, thieves cut their way into an Eli Lilli company warehouse in Enfield Connecticut, disabled the alarm system, loaded pallets of pharmaceuticals values at approximately 80 million dollars into a tracker trailer and disappeared into the night."SOT David Fein, U.S. Attorney: "As far as we know, this brazen crime was the biggest theft in Connecticut history and in the history of the pharmaceutical industry countrywide.SOT David Fein, U.S. Attorney: "Two brothers Amaury and Amed Villa have been charged with participating in the theft of pharmaceuticals from the Enfield warehouse. One of the brothers, Amaury, has also been charged in Florida along with other defendants for the possession and sale in Florida of the Eli Lilli pharmaceuticals stolen from the warehouse in Enfield."SOT David Fein, U.S. Attorney: "The other brother, Amed, has also been charged in Illinois in relation to a theft of more than 35 hundred cases of cigarettes, values at more than eight million dollars from a warehouse in Peoria Illinois."SOT David Fein, U.S. Attorney: "Amaury and Amed Villa were arrested earlier today in Florida on charges contained in an indictment returned by a federal grad jury here in New Haven. The indictment which was unsealed earlier today charged the Villa brothers with theft and conspiracy offences, stemming from the Enfield warehouse burglary."-----------BC-US--Prescription Drugs Heist, 1st Ld-WriteFeds: Arrests made in $80M prescription drug heistFeds to announce arrests in theft of $80 million in prescription drugs from Conn. warehouseAssociated Press= NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) _ Authorities have made arrests in the 2010 theft of about $80 million in prescription drugs from a Connecticut warehouse, a robbery described as one of the biggest pharmaceutical heists in history, the U.S. attorney's office said Thursday. The U.S. attorney's office, FBI and Enfield Police Department planned to hold a news conference Thursday afternoon to discuss the unsealing of an indictment and arrests of those allegedly involved in the theft. The thieves broke into the Enfield warehouse of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly & Co. in March 2010 and stole enough pills to fill a tractor-trailer. The drugs were believed to be destined for the black market, perhaps overseas. After cutting a hole in the roof of the industrial park warehouse, they lowered themselves to the floor, disabled the alarms and spent at least an hour loading pallets of antidepressants and other drugs into a vehicle at the loading dock, authorities said. The company said the stolen drugs included the antidepressants Prozac and Cymbalta and the anti-psychotic Zyprexa. In the days after the heist, the Indianapolis-based drug maker asked the public for help in spotting the stolen pills and warned consumers to watch for tampering that might indicate products were stolen. Local police interviewed company workers and checked area hotels to try to identify suspects, but there was little word on progress of the investigation until now. Experts have said the heist shared many traits with warehouse thefts of pharmaceuticals last year near Richmond, Va., Memphis, Tenn., and Olive Branch, Miss. Those thieves also cut through ceilings and sometimes used trapeze-style rigging to get inside and disable the main and backup alarms. In some cases, they sprayed dark paint on the lenses of security cameras; in others, they stole disks in the security recording devices.(****END****) VIDEO PRODUCER: Nicole Grether ---------------------------VIDEO SOURCE: pool; WTNH-----------------------VIDEO APPROVAL: Donna Starddard----------------------------VIDEO RESTRICTIONS: Courtesy WTNH; Market embargo----------------------------------MARKET EMBARGO (S): Courtesy WTNH; Market embargo--------------------------------SCRIPT/WIRE SOURCE: BC-US--Prescription Drugs Heist, 1st Ld-Write