Group of suspects wanted in burglary spree targeting pharmacies across New York City
NEW YORK CITY (WABC) -- Police in New York City are searching for whoever is responsible for a brazen rash of robberies targeting pharmacies across the city.
A determined burglar can be seen on video, trying to clip and rip his way into a pharmacy, while an accomplice waits in a car outside.
"They knew what they were doing. He was talking with someone over the phone. Getting tips, asking questions over the phone to someone telling him how to get in," said the owner of LVRX Pharmacy.
This time, though, he didn't get in. The pharmacy owner says the ruckus woke up tenants in the apartment upstairs.
"They opened the window, and they started yelling, 'who is this, what are you doing?' And he ran away," the owner said. "He was wearing a mask."
He may have been masked, but police believe the suspect is part of a team responsible for 11 mom-and-pop pharmacy break-ins, including the attempt at LVRX Pharmacy on Woodhaven Boulevard last month.
The burglars have been at it since early December, taking cash and narcotics from neighborhood pharmacies in Queens for that first month.
Video was taken at one of the pharmacies in Corona, Queens on December 15.
After that, officers say they expanded their targets to include shops in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn; West Farms, the Bronx and West Brighton, Staten Island.
Photos were taken from the latest incident on February 19, at Randall Manor Pharmacy on Forest Avenue. It happened a week after the one at LVRX Pharmacy.
The M.O. is the same, and the damage is usually more expensive to the small business owners than the stolen merchandise.
"He came in with all the tools. He broke down my gate in a minute," said the owner of LVRX pharmacy. "Like, he had everything set up already. He could have easily got in."
The value of the narcotics stolen, when the thieves did get their hands on them, was usually only a few hundred dollars. But in the most recent incident, police say they got away with more than $10,000 worth of pills.
The NYPD is asking anyone with any information on the suspects to call Crime Stoppers at 800-577-TIPS.
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