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2018 | OriginalPaper | Chapter

13. Theft of Medicines from Hospitals as Organised Retail Crime: The Italian Case

Authors : Ernesto U. Savona, Marco Dugato, Michele Riccardi

Published in: Retail Crime

Publisher: Springer International Publishing

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Abstract

Theft of medicines is emerging as the new frontier of pharmaceutical crime and of organised retail crime. It is attractive to criminals due to the high profits and the relatively low risk, and it is facilitated by many asymmetries of the legal market. Using data retrieved from open sources and institutional reports, this chapter focuses on the theft of medicines from hospitals that occurred in Italy between 2006 and 2014. It describes what types of medicines are stolen, where and how, and it tests two hypotheses: (1) that stolen medicines are ‘laundered’ and resold on the legal market, exploiting the vulnerabilities of the pharmaceutical supply-chain; and (2) that organised crime—especially Italian mafias and Eastern European groups—plays a crucial role in this criminal activity, supported by a network of corrupt officials and white-collar criminals.

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Title: Theft of Medicines from Hospitals as Organised Retail Crime: The Italian Case
Authors: Ernesto U. Savona
Marco Dugato
Michele Riccardi
Publisher: Springer International Publishing
Book: Retail Crime
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-73064-6

Electronic ISBN: 978-3-319-73065-3

Copyright Year: 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73065-3_13

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