10 CHARGED AS VA. RAID TURNS UP NEW NARCOTIC

Prince William Investigation Shows Spread Of OxyContin

Prince William County and Manassas police raided three houses in the
Yorkshire area late Friday, arresting 10 people and seizing more than 200
tablets of a potentially lethal painkiller that officials say is fast
making inroads into the Washington region.

The drug, OxyContin, is a synthetic form of morphine usually prescribed for
terminal cancer patients and others with chronic pain. The powerful opiate
has been blamed for at least 39 deaths in Southwest Virginia since1997, and
narcotics officers warn that it could be the successor to heroin and
cocaine among drug addicts. On the street, OxyContin sells for 10 times its
pharmacy price.

Friday's arrests resulted from a seven-month investigation focusing on the
Yorkshire residences, where undercover officers arranged to buy OxyContin
and other drugs. In addition to the 200 pills, police seized $2,000 in
cash, two guns and unknown amounts of marijuana, cocaine and Dilaudid,
another synthetic narcotic. Seven adults and three juveniles were rustled
out of the homes during the 2 1/2-hour raid.

The illegal use of OxyContin, first noted in sparsely inhabited Appalachia,
has spread to the Washington suburbs in recent months, police said. In
February, a Manassas man was charged with stealing 90 bottles of the
painkiller from a pharmacy in Fauquier County; that same month, more than
$12,000 worth of OxyContin was taken from a pharmacy in Fairfax.

OxyContin, the brand name for oxycodone, is manufactured by Purdue Pharma
LP, of Stamford, Conn. In the past 18 months, police and health officials
in southwestern Virginia and other rural areas have discovered a huge
illegal market for the drug.

Virginia and other states have recently launched campaigns warning of the
drug's effects, but those efforts have focused on rural communities where
abuse is considered widespread. Last week, Virginia Attorney General Mark
L. Earley (R) announced creation of a task force -- its members largely
from the southwestern part of the state -- to address illegal use and sales
of OxyContin.

"It's not just in the rural areas, it's all over," said 1st Sgt. Jay
Lanham, who oversees narcotics detectives in Prince William. "We know
there's a lot of OxyContin out there, and we know there's a lot of demand
because the supply is moving very quickly. It is absolutely a significant
problem here."

Initially, users simply swallowed the time-release pills or crushed and ate
them. But Prince William police say some addicts now dissolve the pills in
water and inject the drug like heroin, while others prefer to inject a rare
liquid form. Detectives also have found OxyContin "lollipops."

Friday night's raid commenced about 9:30 p.m. when a convoy of two dozen
police vehicles descended on the Yorkshire neighborhood. SWAT teams
simultaneously raided two homes, one on Maplewood Drive, the other not far
away on Rugby Road. At the first address, a pit bull bit two SWAT members
on the leg; inside, officers found a half-dozen people, some with needles
hanging from their arms.

Arrested at the Maplewood address were Joseph Michaels, charged with four
counts of conspiring to distribute OxyContin, two counts of distribution of
cocaine, one count of conspiring to distribute metham- phetamines and one
count of maintaining a public nuisance; Leonard Michaels and Tanya Mullin,
each charged with possession of cocaine; and Patrick Hogan, of Manassas
Park, wanted on a fugitive charge of malicious wounding.

At the Rugby Road site, police arrested Carol Mullins on three counts of
contributing to the delinquency of a minor and child endangerment. Three
juveniles at the home were charged with marijuana possession.

The suspects' ages were not available yesterday.

During the raids, police spotted a man suspected of selling OxyContin in
the area. They later arrested him on distribution charges at his home on
nearby Spruce Street. As Toby Terry, 31, was being apprehended, officers
said they observed his wife, Mary, tossing OxyContin pills out a back
window of the couple's house. She was charged with possession of the
narcotic and child endangerment.

Terry, who described himself as an unemployed addict, said after his arrest
that OxyContin is "a very nasty drug. It has definitely ruined my life."

According to search warrant affidavits filed in Prince William, police had
been monitoring the Maplewood Drive and Rugby Road locations since early
last year.

At one point, according to the affidavits, an area doctor told police of
her suspicions that several of her patients with prescriptions for
OxyContin were "reselling these prescriptions on the street." Police then
linked one of the patients to the Rugby Road address.

Police Chief Charlie T. Deane has no doubt that Prince William's first
major OxyContin bust won't be its last. "I'm afraid this is going to be the
first of many," he said. "It's a serious problem."