Chemical Program > Advisories to the Public > Theft of List I and II Chemicals on the Rise

The purpose of this Alert is to report recent developments in chemical diversion to industry.  It is DEA's intention to provide Alert summaries periodically in order to assist industry in complying with legislation.

A large tablet manufacturer recently reported the theft of 4.8 million pseudoephedrine tablets. Not only did this loss cost the company thousands of dollars, it resulted in the diversion of product sufficient to produce four hundred pounds of methamphetamine.

Unfortunately, this problem has become increasingly common. Manufacturers and distributors of List I and II chemicals should be aware that theft of controlled chemicals is on the increase.

The Methamphetamine Control Act (MCA) has made it more difficult to obtain precursor chemicals through legitimate channels, and unsuspecting companies have found themselves the target of employee and outsider thefts of listed chemicals. The most common stolen chemicals are pseudoephedrine and ephedrine, but DEA has received reports of theft for most of the chemicals on the List I schedule.

You can help prevent this expensive problem before it begins. If you have not already done so, consider adopting policies to reduce risk, such as:

• random physical inventory checks,

• anti-theft security measures,

• and employee background investigations.

Working together, we can keep controlled chemicals out of the hands of criminals.