Door-smashing burglary at Newport pharmacy nets $100 worth of cough syrup

At least one burglar smashed a glass door of a Newport Beach pharmacy early Tuesday and stole three bottles of prescription-strength cough syrup worth about $100, police said.

Officers arrived at Best Choice Pharmacy, 4229 Birch St., at about 1:30 a.m., approximately two minutes after an alarm company called authorities to report that glass had been broken, said Newport Beach Police Department spokeswoman Jennifer Manzella.

Officers approached the business with guns drawn and searched inside with the help of an Irvine police K-9, but did not find a suspect.

Three bottles of cough syrup with codeine, valued at about $100, were missing. The pharmacy, which had been burglarized at least once in the past, had secured its pharmaceutical drugs in an effort to thwart potential thieves, Manzella said.

“That could be why the loss was so minimal,” Manzella said. “They didn’t have access to everything.”

Detectives will review the pharmacy’s camera footage to try to identify suspects.