Police say a pair of armed bandits made off with a stash of stolen narcotics, including a bottle of pills planted by police containing GPS tracking devices.
Police traced the getaway car down Roosevelt Boulevard to a house on the 6700 block of Torresdale Avenue where they busted the suspects.
They also seized two guns, the suspected getaway vehicle, and the drugs believed to be stolen from the Rite Aid.
City and federal authorities believe the two captured are the ones who've pulled off a total of 18 drug store robberies this year.
A joint task force has been targeting them for months.
"We're hoping to be able to tie some of these others jobs into it. We have a case opened on 17 other drug store type robberies for Hobbs Act violations. We're certainly working with Philly today and trying to see if these are linked," ATF Special Agent Donald Robinson said.
The armed robberies occurred in the Northeast and nearby Montgomery County since January, taking cash and prescription drugs including OxyContin, Percocet, and Xanax.
Last night's caper appears to fit the bill.
"Philly police department made the arrest. It was a timely arrest after the robbery. They were able to seize some valuable evidence," Robinson said.
Police have not released the names of the suspects.
