31 Indicted On Charges of Prescription Pill Crimes

A federal grand jury is indicting 31 people suspected of involvement in rings that trafficked oxycodone, and most of those who will be charged are Pasco County residents.

Pasco County Sheriff’s spokesman Kevin Doll said that the people are being indicted for incidents that occurred in Pasco.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Attorrney Robert O'Neill and the federal Drug Enforcement Administration announced Friday the unsealing of two federal indictments charging people with conspiring to possess oxycodone with intent to distribute.

In one indictment, a ring of people are accused of involvement in trafficking the pills in Florida and Tennessee. In the second, people are accused of trafficking pills in Florida and Kentucky. The drugs would go from within Florida to those states, authorities said.

Authorities say these crimes were committed since 2009. If convicted, each of the 31 indicted face a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.

“When you mix greed with addiction, it’s a very, very bad problem," said assistant special ageny in charge James F. DiCaprio.

The authorities were mum on a lot of the specifics of the cases and what role folks in Pasco played in the crime, but a DEA detective said that pill-related misdoings that they encountered included doctor shopping and people who obtained pills through fraud.

The DEA said tens of thousands of pills were seized.

The indictments stem from a two-year investigation.

This shouldn’t be considered the end of attempts to combat the pill abuse problem either, authorities cautioned.  It’s a difficult problem, and they’re not going to stop fighting it, they said.

“Everything is subject to change,” the DEA detective said. “It’s a fluid movement."

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office assisted with the investigaton. The Tampa Bay Times reports that nearly 20 people have been arrested and the rest are being sought.

Sheriff Chris Nocco said in a press conference that this was a long–term investigation and while he couldn't talk about pecifics of the federal indictments, he said that pill abuse is supported by other crimes, metal thefts, car thefts and break-ins.

And you don't have to look far from the victim to find the suspect. They often know each other, he said.