Over the counter drugs sold at deeply discounted prices. It
sounds like a great deal, but you might want to think twice before you make the
purchase. Many of the drugs were stolen in an elaborate shoplifting ring.
"Shoplifters will go into stores, they will steal the
product, ultimately they will sell it to a middle man," says U.S. Postal
Inspector David Arminio.
That person will try to sell the product online, sometimes for
30% less than retail stores. The crime poses a real physical danger.
"A lot of these products have temperature requirements,
they have to be stored within a certain degree, when they are stolen they are
either stored in big warehouses, cars in hot weather," says Arminio.
Postal inspectors say the criminals involved in these schemes
are focused on money, not temperatures or expiration dates.
"If someone consumes a product that is possibly spoiled
they can get sick and one of our main concerns was a lot of products in this
scheme were baby formula," says Arminio.
Beware of online deals with price tags far below typical market
value.
"When it is that much cheaper than the store, you kind of
have to wonder where is that product from. No one has more buying power than
the national retail chain," says Arminio.
The suspect in this case was discovered from leads provided by
some retail stores. Postal inspectors made undercover buys to make their case.
