OXY' DEALER RAIDS NET 201 IN KENTUCKY

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- State and federal authorities arrested 201 alleged
dealers in Kentucky in a two-day crackdown on a deadly new drug that
produces a high similar to heroin.

Warrants were issued for six more dealers on charges of distributing
OxyContin, a prescription painkiller whose use is said to be epidemic in
the region.

The crackdown Tuesday and Wednesday was the biggest drug raid in Kentucky
history, U.S. Attorney Joseph Famularo said.

The drug, known on the streets as Oxy or OC, is prescribed for cancer
victims and others suffering severe pain. At least 59 people have died from
Oxy overdoses in eastern Kentucky in the past year, Famularo said.

Eastern Kentucky is one of the first regions of the nation where abuse of
the drug has caught on, said Gary Oetjen of the Drug Enforcement Agency.

Produced by Purdue Pharma of Norwalk, Conn., it is also popular in parts of
Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland and Maine, according to the
Justice Department's National Drug Intelligence Center.