Prescription Drug Bait Bottles

(New York City)

Representatives within the New York Police Department will be working with pharmacies in the New York City area to help catch thieves that steal prescription drugs.

Called “bait bottles” by the NYPD, fake packaging will be filled with look-a-like drugs and labeled to look like oxycodone as well as other popular controlled substances kept within a pharmacy.

Hidden within the bottle, police have placed small tracking chips that will allow officers to quickly locate a thief that robs a pharmacy. While similar to GPS tracking, the tracking technology that relays a suspect’s location is likely battery-powered, active RFID.

According to New York Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly, the tracking program was launched in order to combat the growth of the prescription drug black market in New York City and the increase of pharmacy robberies over the last five years.

Fortunately, stick-up geniuses are seldom known to be well read so the bait bottle scheme will likely be totally unexpected and lead to apprehensions.