Men Attempt to Steal $16,000 Worth of Weight Loss Drugs from Delivery Driver Outside Pharmacy By Charlotte Phillipp

Two men and a 17-year-old have been arrested after they allegedly stole a shipment of weight loss drugs as they were being delivered to a Pennsylvania pharmacy.

According to police in the Philadelphia suburb of Bensalem, the robbery took place on Thursday, Jan. 15, outside of the town’s Smart Choice Pharmacy.

Investigators said the three suspects allegedly attacked a delivery driver as he was dropping off medication for the pharmacy.

The suspects stole two boxes containing GLP-1 weight loss drugs, including Mounjaro, Ozempic and Trulicity, valued at around $16,000, police said.

They then fled in a gold-colored Toyota, “nearly striking a nearby witness who was attempting to record the incident,” police added. After a call was put out to local law enforcement about the Toyota, Bensalem Township Police pulled the car over about two miles away from the pharmacy.

The delivery driver identified the three suspects, investigators said. Bensalem police later identified the two men as 41-year-old Joshua Dupree from Tamaqua, Pa., 21-year-old Jahnoi Dawkins from Albany, N.Y., and a 17-year-old boy from New York City.

Investigators later discovered that the robbery was allegedly planned, as the three traveled from New York City — about 80 miles away — and “pharmacy staff reported that they had received suspicious phone calls and emails in the days leading up to the incident requesting information about the delivery order,” police said.

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Bensalem Public Safety Director Bill McVey said the delivery driver was thrown to the ground during the incident.

“Thank God the person is okay,” he told 6ABC Philadelphia.

The three suspects are now facing charges including robbery, theft, receiving stolen property and simple assault.

Speaking with CBS Philadelphia and 6ABC, Jigar Patel, a pharmacist at Smart Choice, said he didn’t suspect anything leading up to the incident.

“Thank God no gunshots or anything like that were involved, but no, there was nothing that came out to us for us to suppose that, ‘Hey, there’s something going on.’ I hope it never ever happens again,” Patel told 6ABC.

GLP-1 weight loss drugs often cost more than $1,000 per month without medical insurance coverage.

“Not everyone can get their hands on it,” Patel told CBS Philadelphia. “These are $1,000 drugs. For anyone that’s not easily able to pay for it, this becomes an alternate route.”

Public Safety Director McVey told 6ABC that Smart Choice has already made changes to its medication delivery process, and the stolen GLP-1s were returned to the pharmacy.

He also urged pharmacies to be alert if anyone calls asking about delivery schedules.

“If someone’s making phone calls asking about when deliveries are coming, possibly notify your police department,” McVey told CBS Philadelphia. “Make sure the parking lot’s clear before you’re accepting $16,000 worth of product or more. That has value to some people, and criminals will find it.”