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Attorney
General Mike DeWine
DeWine
Announces Clinic, Pharmacy Raids
Authorities Remind Citizens to Report Suspected
Prescription Drug Abuse at 855-BCI-OHIO
(COLUMBUS,
Ohio) -- Ohio Attorney General Mike
DeWine announced today that multiple federal search warrants were
served this
morning in connection with an ongoing prescription drug abuse
investigation in
central Ohio.
Authorities
with the Attorney General's Bureau
of Criminal Investigation (BCI) assisted multiple agencies, including
the Drug
Enforcement Agency's (DEA) Tactical Diversion Squad, in serving the
federal
search warrants at the following locations:
•
Columbus Southern Medical Clinic, 2912 South High Street, Columbus
• Pharma
1 Pharmacy, 1763 South High Street, Columbus
• Drug
Store Pharmacy, 2940 Groveport Road, Columbus
"After
a lengthy investigation, we have
reason to believe that some people at these locations were involved
with the
improper prescribing or distribution of pharmaceutical drugs," said
Attorney General DeWine. "Although
we have come a long way in combatting this problem statewide,
prescription drug
abuse still happens and we need everyone's help to fight it."
Authorities
began investigating the three
locations after receiving a tip from a community member.
Those
with information regarding the improper
sale or prescribing of prescription drugs should call 855-BCI-OHIO
(855-224-6446).
Additional
agencies involved in the execution
of today's search warrants include the U.S. Attorney's Office for the
Southern
District of Ohio, Columbus Police Department, Franklin County Sheriff's
Office,
Licking County Sheriff's Office, Attorney General's Health Care Fraud
Unit,
Ohio State Board of Pharmacy, State Medical Board of Ohio, and Ohio
Bureau of
Workers Compensation.
No
arrests have been made.
Upon
taking office in 2011, Attorney General
DeWine made the fight against prescription drug abuse a priority. In
that time,
those with the Attorney General's Office have been involved in the
permanent
license revocation of more than two dozen doctors and pharmacists who
improperly prescribed prescription medication, the conviction of 13
doctors,
pharmacists, traffickers and associates, and the seizure of more than
$1.67
million worth of prescription pills.
Video
and photographs are available on request
by emailing public.affairs@ohioattorneygeneral.gov
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