Boeing workers were as high as planes they built

Thirty-seven people were arrested Thursday in the culmination of a four-year FBI investigation of employee prescription drug possession and distribution at a Boeing plant in Ridley Park.

“Boeing came to us with information that they had suspected drug activity occurring on their property,” said U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger. The admission prompted an extended undercover operation.

“Many defendants distributed drugs to fellow employees or were purchasing drugs and using them at work,” Memeger said.

In an indictment unsealed today, 23 individuals are charged with illegal distribution of drugs including fentanyl, oxycodone, Xanax and Suboxone.

In addition, 14 are charged by information with a misdemeanor offense of attempted possession for buying what they believed to have been a controlled substance from an FBI cooperator, but was actually a placebo.

“The investigation didn’t cover one prescription drug abuse ring. Instead, a number of buyers and sellers were involved,” Memeger said. The activities’ “profuse” nature made the case harder to pull together.