More than 20 people charged in drug bust in Central Virginia, Shenandoah Valley. People said nothings being done.. Today's Outlook. Overall, about 120 law enforcement officials were involved in the arrests, Calhoun estimated. Chris McGreal is the author of American Overdose, The Opioid Tragedy in Three Acts, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, The Wellness Center was churning out so many opioid prescriptions that the fax machine couldnt keep up.. By Matthew Hill; Jun 6, 2006 Jun 6, 2006 Updated Jul 29, 2014 . Jenni Vincent 0:04 0:35 MARTINSBURG, W.Va. Berkeley County Sheriff Nathan Harmon is proud of his department's record marijuana bust, which netted product with an estimated street value of more. The suspects attempted to thwart law enforcement surveillance using Facebook, and encrypted communications apps like FaceTime and WhatsApp, according to the indictment. Choose wisely! Roughly enough Heroin to supply an estimated 500,000 heroin users for a month. Duluth police say this is the largest drug bust in history for the region. The arrests, which . ELKINS, W.Va. -- Two dozen people face federal drug and gun charges following an investigation in Virginia and West Virginia, according to U.S. Attorney Bill Ihlenfeld. Among the agencies involved in Tuesdays arrests were Huntington, state and Marshall University police, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the West Virginia National Guard, the FBI and local sheriffs departments. The investigation also led to takedowns in California, Missouri, Ohio, New England and New York. Please disable your ad blocker, whitelist our site, or purchase a subscription. Be Nice. Among those arrested were the ringleaders, one in Huntington and two in Detroit, of a group that had been operating in Huntington for nearly 15 years. It doesnt give the opportunity for information to get spread throughout the illegal drug community, he said. Nelson County's Commonwealth's Attorney Daniel Rutherford said this comes from a . Europe and others push for a standard lunar time zone, Dr. Simi is a TikTok star. In the evening hours of April 27th. Thats really the design by nature, its the proverbial line in the sand moving forward. Martinsburg. Get the latest headlines on local WVU, College and High School sports! Keep it Clean. Barnett, who owned Family Pharmacy, also professed not to know the reputation of the Wellness Center or that it had a list of acceptable pharmacies for patients to fill opioid prescriptions and that his was on it. Tiano lost his medical licence. I would like to personally thank all involved agencies for their combined effort in removing this number of narcotics off the streets of Keyser, Mineral County, and the state of West Virginia, Bruce said. Your e-mail address will be used to confirm your account. "That is a snapshot, one day in the time of this case … so that tells you that over the whole year of the investigation the breadth of this conspiracy and this illegal enterprise," Bernard said. The Food Guy: New modern tavern coming to Bridge Road, Auditor McCuskey announces bid for WV governor, Dear Abby: Wife has no appreciation for man's preferred dress, Girls basketball regionals: Charleston Catholic suffocates Roane County to win Region 4 co-final 42-30, WV House narrowly passes bill that would cap noneconomic losses recoverable from employers that deliberately imperil workers, New research finds increased death risk for miners from lung diseases beyond black lung, Boys basketball sectional semis: SC goes deep to start postseason run, Senate suspends rules, approves religious freedoms bill in one day, WVU basketball: Mountaineers rally late, win at Iowa State, Panic! Copyright 2023 West Virginia MetroNews Network. People came from hundreds of miles around to buy the powerful drugs from pharmacies linked to pill mills where compliant doctors prescribed indiscriminately. If the warnings sounded by pain specialists and doctors in the first few years had been heeded, the crisis might have been averted or at least greatly diminished. Theres no way people down there didnt know what was going on. All Rights Reserved. BRIDGEPORT In a collaborative effort from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, more than 80 people have been charged in one of the biggest drug busts in North Central West Virginia. He said 40 of the 87 arrests will be facing federal charges while 47 face state charges. Low 34F. High 78F. The last thing we want is for the US Postal Service to become the nations largest drug dealer and there are people way above my pay grade working on that, but absolutely its about putting pressure on the Chinese, Terwilliger said. of marijuana are now off the streets in what authorities say could be the largest drug bust in Richmond's history . Morgantown News Delivered to Your Inbox Each Week! A Warner Bros. We won't share it with anyone else. By then, Smith was watching. An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Marshals Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, West Virginia State Police and the Division of Natural Resources. He is now awaiting trial. 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Hes also a sign of Mexicos healthcare crisis, Bola Tinubu, the declared winner of Nigerias presidential election, appeals for unity, 19 cafes that make L.A. a world-class coffee destination, Shocking, impossible gas bills push restaurants to the brink of closures, A 5,000-year-old restaurant highlights Iraqs archaeological renaissance, Fiery Greece train collision kills 32, injures at least 85, Column: Supreme Court conservatives may want to block student loan forgiveness. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. ROANOKE, Va. - The combined efforts of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies have resulted in the arrests of 13 individuals over the past weeks connected to a variety of drug . He was arraigned and bond was set at $175,000 cash only, but that has since been reduced to $50,000 cash only, according to the PHRJ website. An informant tipped them off that Debra Justice and Wooley had hatched a get rich(er) quick scheme to open a pain clinic that would refer all of its prescriptions for controlled substances to Sav-Rite Kermit, and that they were handing out drugs like candy. Invalid password or account does not exist. He also added that the arrests made were primarily for felony crimes: The majority of the operations are all felony investigations, you have a few misdemeanors sprinkled in but those misdemeanor cases are complementary of the felony investigations, Sheriff Mellinger told WSAZ. Ihlenfeld said warrants were executed for charges including the possession and distribution of heroin, cocaine and crack cocaine. Multiple law enforcement agencies collaborated in the raid of a Fort Myers auto. He said 30 arrests were made as of midday Tuesday in the states second-largest city. Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles. The pharmacist persuaded his assistant at the drugstore, Debra Justice, to set up a medical clinic just outside Kermit and they recruited a doctor more than an hour away at Marshall Universitys medical school, Dr John Tiano. Offering praise for the 14 agencies involved, including the drug task force, which led the overall effort, Harrah said Thursdays actions are especially important and send a message to local communities. He denied knowing that the clinic was widely spoken about in town as a pill mill. An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the e-mail address listed on your account. JACKSON COUNTY, WV (WOWK) The Jackson County Sheriff's Office is leading the single largest drug investigation warrant sweeps in West Virginia's history. The alleged suspects range in age from 19 to 63 years old. The whole thing was a game, a scam. Clearly he is a "supporter of LAW* and ORDER". Its a potential game changer for Huntington and southern West Virginia, Stuart said. Harrah said Fayette Countys drug problem, which he called the top priority of the county, affects everything from insurance rates to crime. In 2007, someone anonymously tipped off the West Virginia medical board that Tiano was prescribing illegally. Published June 22, 2021 4:25 a.m. PDT Share TORONTO - Twenty people are facing rafts of charges each and more than $61 million worth of cocaine, crystal meth and marijuana was seized in what. All in a town of fewer than 3,000 people. Low 34F. Huntington is a safer city today, but we continue to be vigilant.. Were not seeing meth labs here much anymore, he said, to which Bruce added, Fentanyl is the big issue now.. Hourly & 8-Day Forecast. The numbers of prescriptions fell sharply. Unfortunately many people seem to think that crap matters..it does not. I was blown away. When asked why a mass arrest was necessary, Calhoun said the element of surprise was necessary. 2023 Cable News Network. BRIDGEPORT In a collaborative effort from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies, more than 80 people have been charged in one of the biggest drug busts in North Central West. Ihlenfeld said with the arrests, the individuals range from small positions in the drug world to high positions. Drug firms say they acted responsibly in shipping millions of pills. While authorities were still searching for the remaining suspects identified in the investigation as of Thursday afternoon, Calhoun and Harrah were confident they would be found. Updated: Apr 9, 2018 / 11:04 PM EDT. Although Tranquilandia is referred to as a drug lab, it's actually much bigger. But Smith quickly discovered that users were happy to tell him where he could find doctors to write prescriptions and drug stores to fill them no questions asked. 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