More than three dozen people have been charged in a prescription drug sweep that included a raid on a Boeing plant near Philadelphia that makes military helicopters.
Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration swooped in Thursday morning at the 5,400-employee plant in Ridley Park.
Federal authorities say 37 people are charged with illegal distribution of a prescription drug. All but one is an employee or former employee of the plant.
The drugs the Boeing employees were allegedly distributing includes fentanyl (Actiq), oxycodone (Oxycontin), alprazolam (Xanax) and buprenorphine (Suboxone), according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The charges allege that each defendant either sold a controlled substance to an FBI cooperator or bought what was believed to be a controlled substance from the cooperator but which was, in fact, a placebo, according to the U.S. Attorney.
“This investigation and prosecution focused not only on the sellers, but also on the users because of the critical role that these employees play in manufacturing military aircraft,” said United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. “Prescription drug abuse has been on the rise in our community, and this is just one example of how pervasive the problem is."
Workers there build aircraft including the H-47 Chinook helicopter and the V-22 Osprey. The plant is part of the Defense, Space and Security unit of the Chicago-based Boeing Co. It is also the headquarters for its Rotorcraft division.
An official with Boeing's Military Aircraft division at the plant declined to comment.
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