Pot times July 17, 2005

Agents Arrest 10 In Web Drug Bust

URL: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v05/n1124/a06.html
Newshawk: http://www.painreliefnetwork.org

Pubdate: Sat, 16 Jul 2005
Source: Star-Banner, The (FL)
Copyright: 2005 The Star-Banner
Contact: bill.thompson@starbanner.com
Website: http://www.starbanner.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1533
Author: Denis Kalette, Associated Press
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone)

AGENTS ARREST 10 IN WEB DRUG BUST

MIAMI - Law enforcement agents arrested 10 people Friday for illegally selling prescription painkillers and other controlled drugs worth more than $10 million on the Internet, in a sweep authorities called the largest state crackdown of its kind.

Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist said those arrested were using licensed pharmacies to get pills, then reselling the drugs on the Internet without prescriptions.

Calling it a "horrific drug operation," Crist said.  "Internet pill pushers operate without regard for the law or medical necessity, and certainly without regard to safety.  Their primary focus is on making a quick buck."

Crist said the arrests represent "Florida's largest state prosecution of an organization filling orders for Internet drugs."

The accused head of the "pill mill" was Abel Rodriguez, who authorities said filled more than $10 million worth of orders since late 2003, including hydrocodone, a painkiller also known as "synthetic heroin" that can kill if misused.

Law enforcement agents seized more than 650,000 pills valued at $1.9 million, and they said Friday that more than $2.2 million in cash and property were forfeited.  The Florida Health Department issued emergency orders halting activity at licensed pharmacies it said were involved in the operation.

Of those arrested, "none was a doctor, nurse or pharmacist," said Jodie Breece, chief assistant prosecutor, emphasizing, "We went after no pharmacists," only the resellers.

Rodriguez and others allegedly used "shell pharmacies" to buy from pharmaceutical wholesalers, filling at least 2,000 orders per week, according to the federal Drug Enforcement Administration.

At Nuria's La Familia Pharmacy in Miami, allegedly used by Rodriguez to supply prescription drugs illegally, the person who answered the phone would not identify himself and said family members were not available for comment.  Rodriguez does not have a listed home number, and it was not known whether he has an attorney.

Department of Health authorities were expected to take control of the pharmacy Friday afternoon.

The arrests followed a nine-month investigation known as "Operation Backroom," in which several state and federal agencies cooperated.  In all, 22 people have been arrested, including several apprehended earlier this year.

Throughout Florida, regional teams are hunting top drug sellers, said Jerry Metz, chief of Field Services for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.  "The idea is to cut the head of the snake, so it will die."

"This happens to be a major racketeering case.  Just think, your kid could get these drugs on the Internet," said Amos Rojas Jr., special agent in charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Miami Region.  "The issue here is the ease with which kids can go online and purchase these highly addictive drugs."

Rojas said he expects further arrests.  He pointed out photographs of bagged drugs ready to be shipped, and spilled powder at sites where the pills were bottled.  "Everything was cross-contaminated, which is the other danger," he said.

Because agents seized computers, "We have a general idea who the recipients were," and Florida authorities plan to notify drug enforcement and other agents across the country to follow the drugs' trail and apprehend those who sell them.

"I guarantee you, anyone who's buying ( large quantities ) is out there pushing them in the schools," Rojas said.

An alert from the Department of Justice on the Internet warns that buying prescription drugs from "cyber doctors" without a real prescription or doctor's visit violates federal law and puts consumers at legal risk.