The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s office wrapped up an undercover operation with 135 drug arrests or warrants and with 5,000 illegal pills recovered. The undercover operation lasted weeks and was called “Operation Side Effects”. The rampant increase of deaths related to illegal prescription drugs was the major force behind the operation as prescription drugs have now passed cocaine in Hillsborough County as the top drugs related to overdose deaths.
According to TampaBay.com, sheriff’s deputies recovered Xanax, oxycodone and other prescription narcotics. The arrests and drugs were confiscated following numerous drug stings that were set up all across Hillsborough County. Some of the drug busts took place near pain clinics. In some instances people traveled to Tampa from out of state to purchase illegal drugs in Florida and then transport those drugs out of the state for sale.
While not all 135 drug arrests were made the warrants are still outstanding for illicit prescription drug buyers and sellers. Police say that a single oxycodone pill can sell for as much as $30 despite the fact it may have been purchased from a pharmacy for as little as a $1 per pill.
Pain clinics have been a major target for drug investigators in Tampa and throughout the state of Florida. According to sheriff’s, there are almost 75 pain clinics registered in Hillsborough County’s unincorporated areas. There also may be other clinics operating out of state control according to the article.
