Joint Agency Anti-Prescription Fraud Operation Nets 40 Arrests

Law enforcement officers have arrested more than 40 suspects in a tri-county operation that targets prescription pill trafficking, authorities announced Monday.

Dubbed "Operation No Appointment Necessary, Phase 2," the effort targeted 72 people, mainly suspects accused of passing fraudulent prescriptions.

The targets were suspects in Pinellas County cases — including one from Dunedin — but they live in either Pinellas, Pasco or Hernando counties. 

On Monday morning, law enforcement arrested 13 people at large. Another 28 people targeted were already in custody.

Most suspects were in West Pasco. Authorities did not release specifics on who was arrested.

The roundup was staged Monday from the New Port Richey Police Department.

It was the second roundup to stem from a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office investigation conducted last year. The investigation showed more than 400,000 Oxycodone 30-milligram tablets were obtained through fraud between October 2009 and July 2010.

The total combined street value, conservatively, of the Oxycodone was $4 million, Capt. Robert Alfonso of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office said. 

The investigation revealed the presence of an organization, Alfonso said. The top tier has been dismantled, he said.

The investigation put about 700 suspects on the radar of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, Alfonso said.

“You’re dealing with organized crime,” Afonso said. “...You’re dealing with sophisticated individuals.”

The initial Pinellas investigation was followed up by a roundup called "" on March 8 that was headquartered in Dunedin. The operation resulted in 66 arrests, Alfonso said. Some of the targets had died.

Nearly seven people on average die from prescription pill use every day in Florida, according to a state report that identified what drugs were identified in deceased people.

Alfonso and Pasco Sheriff Chris Nocco, who has made pill crimes a priority for his administration, said they wanted to educate the public and the Legislature about the problem.

A , also known as E-FORCSE in the state, started collecting information Sept. 1, and the program can be used starting in October.

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office assisted with both roundups.

“This part of an ongoing investigation,” Nocco said. “I can tell you our detectives and deputies are on the offensive."

Nocco, who was appointed to the job in April, has said repeatedly that the pill crime issue is a priority for his administration.

Involved were the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office Countywide Diversion Task Force, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office, the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and the New Port Richey Police Department.