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Cameras Catch UPS Employee Stealing Pills

A United Parcel Service employee was slapped with a drug dealing charge after police accused him of stealing prescription pills from mail packages at a distribution center in Fairfax, according to documents filed in district court in Alexandria.

James Christopher Curtis, 23, of Springfield, was charged with one count of possession with the intent to distribute oxycodone, a controlled substance found in the prescription drug OxyContin. Authorities said the tablets have a street value in Northern Virginia of about $65 each or about $40 per tablet when purchased in large quantities.

According to the FBI charging affidavit, authorities began investigating Curtis in July after a fellow employee told UPS security officers that Curtis had been seen opening packages being sorted for delivery at the Chantilly distribution center. The witness also provided bosses with two boxes allegedly opened and resealed, including one from a pharmacy in Reston.

UPS security officials found that the box was missing more than 200 tablets of prescription drugs, including oxycodone, Roxicodone and morphine.

Surveillance cameras showed Curtis allegedly opening several packages that passed through his work area and placing several items in a black bag that he removed from the business at the end of his shift.

A week later, Fairfax County police obtained an arrest warrant charging Curtis with grand larceny and arrested him during a traffic stop at Willard Road and Stonecroft Boulevard in Fairfax.

Inside his vehicle under the driver's seat, police seized 1,742 tablets of controlled substances, according to charging documents. Police said they found an additional 56 tablets at his home.

Police said Curtis admitted that he had been stealing prescription pills from the UPS distribution center since April to sell on the street.

It was the second time in three months that federal agents arrested UPS employees for allegedly committing crimes on company property. In July, two employees were charged with selling stolen firearms from the parking lot of the UPS customer service facility in Landover. In both cases, the suspects were turned in by co-workers.

Original story here.