About 100 people were arrested this morning in a coordinated law enforcement sweep targeting illegal prescription drug use in New York City and Long Island, officials said.
Among those charged are doctors and pharmacists, as well as drug users, officials say, with the largest number of arrests occurring on Staten Island.
Brooklyn federal prosecutors spearheaded the action and joined forces with the Drug Enforcement Administration, district attorney's offices and local law enforcement agencies across the metropolitan area in a series of raids that began last night and continued into this morning.
Prescription drug abuse in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Nassau and Suffolk counties largely centers on the illicit sales and use of the painkillers Oxycontin, Vicodin, and Percocet, officials say, with the highest concentration seen in Staten Island and suburban Long Island.
Loretta Lynch, the US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, will hold an 11 am press conference to announce the details of what authorities say is a significant operation centering on the illegal prescription drug trade.
No comments:
Post a Comment