Stalked, robbed for prescription

ERIN PEARSON
DESPERATE drug addicts have started robbing chemist customers for their prescriptions, police have warned.
Geelong Police Detective Senior Constable Heath Kay feared that an attack on a middle aged man outside an East Geelong pharmacy last Friday was a sign of things to come.
He warned customers to be vigilant as they left pharmacies with medicine.
The robbery victim had purchased medicine from an East Geelong pharmacy that was held up at gunpoint last year for opioid-based pain-relief drug Oxycontin.
Det Sen Const Kay said the man was walking home after picking up his prescription from Discount Drug Store on Ormond Rd, East Geelong, when a male and female began chasing him.
Police believed the pair might have been watching him, knowing what medication he had purchased.
Det Sen Const Kay said the pair chased the victim into a Foodworks supermarket where they attacked him and stole his medicine.
The incident should serve as a warning to other chemist customers, Det Sen Const Kay said.
“If you’re leaving the doctor and going straight to the chemist be aware that people may be around watching you.
“Medication can be a bit like money; if these people depend on it and need it they certainly may become desperate.”
Det Sen Const Kay said police recovered a Taser gun at the scene.
Police described the alleged female as in her early 30s, about 160cm with a thin build and dyed pink hair.
The male was in his late 30s, about 185cm tall with a medium build and dark brown hair.
Discount Drug Store pharmacist Jackie, who wanted her surname withheld, said robbers who held her staff at gunpoint in November were after Oxycontin.
The Independent reported in May that addicts were turning to prescription medication as a cheaper alternative to illicit substances.
Barwon Health emergency doctor David Eddy said prescription drug overdoses had increased with the trend to prescription drugs.
Dr Eddy said addicts had tried to obtain prescription drugs including strong painkillers Oxycontin and Endone from the emergency department.
Police asked anyone with information on the East Geelong robbery to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.