Chief: Pill thieves in and out in two minutes

The thieves who broke into the Desloge Walgreens early Saturday made it in and out in just two minutes, according to Chief James Bullock.

The Desloge police chief said the thieves went right to the cabinets where the narcotics were located. “They knew what they were doing,” he said.

Bullock confirmed with certainty that there were two other Walgreens burglaries that same day in Missouri. One was on Gravois in St. Louis within an hour of the time the Desloge store was hit. The other was in Poplar Bluff later in the day.

He said the department has been talking with the other agencies investigating those burglaries.

Security cameras at the store, located at 1142 N. Desloge Dr., showed two suspects wearing hoodies, masks and gloves enter the pharmacy at approximately 3:40 a.m. Saturday. They broke a glass pane of the front door, entered and got away with an undisclosed amount of controlled substances.

Police are also still working on viewing surveillance footage in the area.

In each case, Bullock believes only narcotics were taken. “There’s no doubt they stole it to put it on the street somewhere,” he said.

He said there have been numerous Walgreens pharmacies hit across the nation. There have been some arrests.

Anyone who has information that might aid in the investigation is being asked to contact the Desloge Police Department at 573-431-1463 or 431-3131.