More than 500 charged in largest drug bust in Kentucky history

(Photo:  pharma.com)

Kentucky is a beautiful state, with many wonders and treasures to engender a feeling of pride among its citizens. One thing we aren’t proud of, however, is the fact that our state leads the nation in use of prescription drugs for non-medical purposes. Our Commonwealth has become the oxycodone capital of the country. According to Kentucky State Police Commissioner Rodney Brewer, 877 deaths in Kentucky last year were caused by prescription drug overdoses.

Because of this, it is with a mixture of embarrassment and relief that Kentuckians learn of the latest crackdown on the Bluegrass state’s illegal prescription drug enterprise. Last week, an inter-agency drug task force conducted the largest drug sweep operation in Kentucky’s history. A total of 518 felony arrest warrants were issued, resulting in the arrest of 322 people over two days in 34 Kentucky counties.

The inter-agency task force was comprised of officers from the Kentucky State Police, the FBI, U.S. Attorneys Office, Operation Unlawful Narcotics Investigations, Treatment and Education (UNITE), Appalachian High Intensity Drug Traffic Area (HIDTA), the Office of National Drug Control Policy, and Attorney General Jack Conway’s Prescription Drug Diversion Task Force.

“We are striking a major blow against the epidemic of prescription drug abuse in Kentucky,” said General Conway. “With the renewed cooperation between law enforcement at the local, state and federal level, we will shut down the pain pill pipeline between Kentucky and Florida.”

“I am grateful to all of our partners who have joined forces to address the epidemic of prescription pill abuse in Kentucky,” said General Conway. “The men and women in law enforcement who were part of this multi-agency operation are on the front lines in the battle against an enemy that is claiming lives and shattering families in every corner of the Commonwealth. We will continue to work together to stop the diversion of illegal prescription pills into Kentucky.”

Investigators from the Office of the Attorney General's Drug Investigations Branch began working with Operation UNITE in July 2008 as part of this historic operation. Since January 2008, the OAG Drug Branch has seized more than 4,400 prescription pills, opened nearly 300 drug investigation cases, made nearly 100 arrests and participated in more than a dozen drug round-ups.

“To execute an operation of this magnitude required unprecedented cooperation and collaboration between law enforcement entities in Eastern Kentucky,” said U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Chief Bob McBride.

A three-year criminal investigation led to the arrests, mostly in eastern Kentucky. Two hundred others were arrested in other states. McBride said: "At this time, approximately five hundred individuals have been charged with crimes in numerous counties in state court and in federal court with charges related to the illegal trafficking of prescription drugs."

The indictments also allege there were more than 50 counts of distribution of controlled substances (oxycodone, methadone), conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and money laundering among other charges. As part of the indictment, the United States is seeking the forfeiture of approximately a million dollars worth of assets that include the defendants’ vehicles, real estate, a boat, and a bank account which were properties or entities used to facilitate the illegal activity.

Shelley Johnson, a spokesman for Kentucky Attorney General Conway, told the Courier-Journal’s Bruce Schreiner that after the state started an electronic prescription monitoring program, many residents migrated to other states, particularly South Florida, to obtain multiple prescriptions from pain clinics. They then returned and sold the pills, she said.

Watch the video:  FOX-41 Reports

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