Organized Crime Targets Infant Formula

You never know what's going to appeal to crooks. According to retailers, law enforcement officials and several U.S. Senators, infant formula is a hot item with organized crime these days.

There are basically two reasons:

• It's relatively expensive yet compact. A single can can sell from $14 to $32 and a whole boxful can be easily carried under one arm. Shoplifters and high-volume hijackers can boost the stuff and resell it at a big profit.

• It can be used to cut cocaine and heroine. Its natural, whitish color and nondescript aroma make it a perfect filler for drug pushers looked to extend their products.

Sen. Robert Casey (D-PA) is one of several sponsors of legislation that would make it a federal crime to steal or re-sell formula.

Casey said formula theft is a national issue and the bill will increase penalties. "It's organized crime, and it's got a scope and breadth to it," he said.

Black market

Besides victimizing the retailers from whom it is stolen, Casey said stolen infant formula that ends up on the black market can endanger the health and well-being of newborns, since it may be sold after its expiration date or may not have been stored correctly. 

The theft of infant formula has even been linked to terrorism. In a February 2005 testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee, then Federal Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) Director Robert Mueller said: “Middle Eastern criminal enterprises involved in the organized theft and resale of infant formula pose not only an economic threat, but a public health threat to infants, and a potential source of material support to a terrorist organization.”

According to the Christian Science Monitor the FBI has traced money from infant-formula traffickers in the United States back to nations where terrorist groups, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, are active. In a 200-page report, the National Retail Federation called “organized retail theft” of infant formula “a serious security issue” for retailers.