ADT sued over burglary at drug warehouse

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HARTFORD, Conn., March 20 (UPI) -- Eli Lilly and Co. and its insurer allege a security contractor's carelessness allowed thieves to take millions of dollars in drugs from a Connecticut warehouse.

Lilly and National Fire Insurance Co. sued ADT in U.S. District Court in Hartford, The Hartford Courant reported. In court papers, the companies say the perpetrators behind the massive theft had been able to obtain detailed knowledge of the Enfield warehouse's security system, installed by ADT.

Two brothers, Amed and Amaury Villas, are awaiting trial for the theft.

The warehouse was robbed during a weekend in 2010. Investigators said the thieves entered through a hole in the roof and were able to disarm the security system, allowing them to spend 5 hours using a Lilly forklift to remove 49 pallets of pharmaceutical products.

In court papers, Lilly valued the stolen drugs at $80 million, and National Fire says it paid out $42 million. The companies say similar burglaries hit warehouses with ADT security in Florida, Texas and Illinois.

Amed Villas is charged with being involved in the Illinois theft.

The thieves "utilized unique and confidential knowledge of the security system and the components of that system ... to effectively infiltrate the warehouse without triggering the security monitoring system," Lilly and National Fire allege.

The lawsuit does not suggest how the thieves obtained the information. The plaintiffs suggest ADT was careless about the safekeeping of reviews of security systems on a "storage mechanism in Florida."