Pharmacy Tech Accused of Stealing Cough Meds for Months

A pharmacy technician is pleading not guilty to larceny of drugs from her Massachusetts pharmacy.

Kassandra Hernandez, 27, of Lowell, Massachusetts, is accused of stealing 40 bottles of cough medicine. She allegedly committed the theft by hiding the bottles in her lunch bag, The Lowell Sun reported.

Sheldon Ruben, pharmacist and owner of Medical Center Pharmacy, told police in March 2016 that around 40 16-ounce bottles of promethazine with codeine were missing from the pharmacy.

(Promethazine with codeine is popular among drug abusers because it can be mixed with ice, soda, and Jolly Ranchers to make “purple drank.”)

Ruben decided to go to police when he noticed that 4 bottles of the medicine were supposed to be delivered to the pharmacy in March 2016, but only 1 bottle was in stock, and there were no prescriptions showing that the other bottles were dispensed, according to The Lowell Sun.

A review showed that 40 bottles, each worth around $7, were missing since January 2016.

Police said Hernandez denied that she was responsible for the thefts, but then allegedly called her boss and said she was sending them to a relative in Puerto Rico who was addicted to drugs.

Ruben will be reporting the incident to the Massachusetts Department of Health, The Lowell Sun reported.

Hernandez is due back in court for a pretrial conference on June 23, 2016.