FT. MYERS, Fla. -- It's unclear to authorities why three women might steal $20,000 worth of the cough medicine Mucinex.
The women were spotted on four occasions in Lee County stealing the cold medicine from several pharmacies, and detectives believe they've been targeting locations from Orlando to Fort Myers.
"It's kinda bizarre," Trish Routte, Southwest Florida Crime Stoppers coordinator, said in an email.
The women hit a Winkler Road CVS store on Jan. 17.
They left the shelves bare.
By the time employees realized what happened, the three women were gone, according to Crime Stoppers.
Their process: One woman entered the store and surveyed the area. A short while later, two other women walked in separately, both carrying large tote bags.
The two women headed for the medicine aisle and proceeded to scoop medicine into their bags while the first woman directed them.
The women made away with $1,792 in medicine from the Winkler Road store. They also hit a CVS at 5990 South Point Boulevard on the same day, stealing $2,686 in Mucinex and Breathe Right strips, which are used for nasal congestion.
Mucinex and other cough syrups contain dextromethorpan, said Maggie Baldwin, clinical supervisor of the Crossroads Program at the David Lawrence Center. The center is located in Naples and offers substance abuse treatment.
"Used in high dosage, it has hallucinatory effects," Baldwin said.
The segment of the population that most abuses the drug are teens, she said.
"It's cheap; it's legal."
A study on teen drug abuse by the National Institute on Drug Abuse estimates 4 percent of 12th-graders have abused cough medicine.
"If I can get it in the pharmacy, over the counter, they think it might not be that dangerous, but it is," Baldwin said. "It can be fatal."
In 2015, eight Miami men were sentenced to prison for stealing more than $2.2 million in preretail Mucinex to sell to brokers and retailers around Miami-Dade County, according to a news release by the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District of Florida. The Mucinex was originally intended to be sold at Wal-Mart and Walgreens stores in the southeastern United States.
Authorities say the women who have targeted Lee County stores may be driving a dark-colored Dodge Ram truck with chrome wheels. Crime Stoppers is asking anyone who may be aware of the thefts, or who recognize the women, who are see on surveillance images, to call 1-800-780-8477.
Callers will remain anonymous and will be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.
