By Carl Keith Greene / Staff Writer
As of about 8 p.m. Wednesday, none of the Tri-County detention centers appeared to be hosting prisoners taken in an Eastern Kentucky roundup of alleged drug dealers earlier in the day.
Details of the roundup will be given during a 2:30 p.m. press conference in Lexington, said Kentucky State Police information officer Lt. David Jude from his Frankfort office.
The sweep was seeking people who bring pills from Florida to criminally distribute them in the area.
According to KSP Capt. Kevin Payne, of the Eastern Kentucky drug-enforcement unit, every state police post in the area was participating in the roundup.
In the London post area, some 50 police officers set out from Mount Vernon around 8 a.m. Wednesday with 25 arrest warrants.
A spokesperson for the Pikeville post, which serves Pike, Floyd, Magoffin, Johnson and Martin counties, reportedly said officers in that area sought 75 to 100 alleged pill pushers.
In the days just before the roundup, about ten arrests had already been made by Powell County deputies, said Sheriff Danny Rogers.
At the regional jail in Lee County, 19 people, mostly from Wolfe County, had been lodged.
The pills, which are illegally sold in the state, are allegedly purchased outside the state, not only in Florida, but Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
The Kentucky All Schedule Prescription Electronic Reporting system (KASPER) tracks the dispensing of drugs, and those who wish to sell the pills often buy them in other states to avoid tracking.
Florida is scheduled to install a tracking system, but it is not yet in operation, so it is a particular destination for those who wish to sell the pills.
Drug dealers sometimes provide money for addicts to go to Florida and buy the pills at clinics or doctors’ offices. They keep some for themselves and provide the dealers with the rest.
Local News
Details about pill pipeline roundup coming today
- Local News
-
-
Police search for suspect in highway beating
It was called by some as “road rage,” but Barbourville Police say last Saturday evening’s fight at a city intersection was definitely an assault. And they are still looking for the man who police say threw the first punch.
-
Woman gets five years for drugs
In U.S. Federal Court Wednesday, Heather A. Collins, who was called by Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove as a “kind of leader for the group,” was sentenced to five years after using prescription forms to acquire various drugs.
-
Father, son rearraigned for meth charges
A son and father were rearraigned Wednesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in London.
-
Hounds hold on
Corbin Coach Rob Ledington rolled the dice after his Redhounds took a 6-0 lead, but it paid off with an 8-7 win over Whitley County as Corbin advanced to the 50th District Championship tonight with an ace up their sleeve.
-
Drugs suspected in fatal Knox County crash
Drug use may have been a factor in a crash Monday in Knox County in which an 11-year-old boy was killed, according to Kentucky State Police Post-10 Harlan Public Affairs Officer Trooper Shane Jacobs and Sgt. Jimmy Young.
-
Marie Rader wins 89th Rep. District Primary
Republican Marie Rader won the primary election for the 89th District House of Representatives.
-
Barton wins another circuit court clerk term
Whitley County voters went with experience when it came to electing the next circuit court clerk, choosing incumbent Gary Barton, according to unofficial election results.
-
Bunch victor in 82nd House District
For incumbent State Representative Regina Petrey Bunch, the votes came in bunches Tuesday night.
-
Voter turnout higher than expected
The election day ran fairly smooth in Whitley, with the exception of several precincts losing power briefly and a few complaints regarding signs being too close to polling places.
-
Kenneth S. Stepp to face Hal Rogers in fall
Two Democrats, Kenneth S. Stepp, of Clay County, and Micheal Ackerman, of Rowan County, running for the Fifth Congressional District ran a heads-together race in the 30-county district.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Police search for suspect in highway beating
NJ Man Charged With Murder in Death of Patz
Support, Fun for Kids of Fallen Soldiers at Camp
Fugitive Penguin Caught, Returned to Aquarium
50 Years Later, Underground Fire Still Burning
Light Show Transforms Sydney Opera House
Raw Video: Unruly Passenger Restrained in Miami
Raw Video: Robber Uses Drive-thru Window
Raw Video: Dragon Arrives at Space Station
Calif.'s Coronado Named Nation's Best Beach
CEO Salaries Become Sore Issue in Labor Disputes
Raw Video: Fight Erupts in Ukrainian Parliament
Texan Ranchers Remain Wary of Drought
Raw Video: Soldiers Plant Flags at Arlington
Police: Man Arrested in Etan Patz Disappearance
NYC Protests: the Revolution Will Be Scripted
Chicago U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald Resigns
Neighbors of Etan Patz's Suspect: It's Shocking
Gulf Fishermen Reel From Seafood Troubles
Stuntman Makes Skydive Without Parachute in UK
Raw Video: Bride Who Faked Cancer Released
