Thieves grab $75m in Eli Lilly medicines

New York : As much as $75 million (Dh275 million) in popular Eli Lilly & Co prescription medicines such as Prozac were stolen during a raging storm from a Connecticut warehouse over the weekend, police said on Tuesday.

Burglars broke into the Lilly warehouse either late Saturday or early Sunday in the town of Enfield, Connecticut, as violent rain and winds lashed the Eastern seaboard, Enfield Lt Steven Kaselouskas said.

"You certainly don't see a $50 million to $75 million burglary many times in your career," he said. "This was a well-planned event."

The thieves disabled a burglar alarm in the building and carted away dozens of pallets loaded with Lilly antidepressants Prozac and Cymbalta, anti-psychotic Zyprexa and other company medicines, according to published reports.

Kaselouskas speculated the drugs could be headed for the black market and possibly overseas.