NEW ORLEANS
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration on Wednesday arrested 22 doctors and pharmacists during Operation Pilluted, a law enforcement investigation to to stop the trafficking and abuse of pharmaceuticals across several states.
The 15-month operation involved nearly a thousand law enforcement officers across four states – Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, according to authorities.
There were 280 arrests made using intelligence gathered by law enforcement along with complaints by citizens, according to the DEA.
In 2013, approximately 43,982 unintentional drug overdose deaths occurred in the United States, one death every 13 minutes, according to officials.
Nearly 52 percent of those deaths or 22,76 were attributed to prescription drugs. Of these, 71 percent or 16,235 were attributed to opioid overdoses, the DEA stated.
“DEA is committed to reducing the destruction brought on by the trafficking and abuse of prescription drugs through aggressive criminal enforcement, robust administrative oversight, and strong relationships with other law enforcement agencies, the public, and the medical community,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Keith Brown. “The doctors and pharmacists arrested in Operation Pilluted are nothing more than drug traffickers who prey on the addiction of others while abandoning the Hippocratic Oath adhered to faithfully by thousands of doctors and pharmacists each day across this country.”
The DEA stated that 21 search warrants were executed across Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi. There were 51 vehicles, 202 weapons, and $404,828 in cash seized along with $11,6 million in US currency and $6,7 million in real property, officials stated.
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