14 HELD ON OXYCONTIN CHARGES IN E. KY.

PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- Kentucky State Police continued their crackdown on
black-market prescription drugs yesterday, arresting 14 people and seeking
seven more in Pike County.

State Police Trooper Scott Hopkins said a seven-month investigation
identified 21 people who were dealing in OxyContin.

One of them, Hopkins said, had stolen more than 5,000 pills from a
Pikeville-area pharmacy.

"OxyContin is still a problem," said Hopkins, spokesman for the state
police post in Pikeville. "We're doing everything in our power to curb that
problem, and we've got other ongoing investigations that you may hear about
in the future.

"We continually have some kind of investigation going on" regarding
OxyContin, he said.

Troopers from the Pikeville post still were looking for the remaining seven
people last night.

"It's just a matter of catching them at home or whatever it may be,"
Hopkins said. He added that he expected some of the seven, like some of the
14 arrested yesterday, to turn themselves in to police.

Hopkins said some of the arrests were made as a result of information
supplied by residents concerned about the prescription drug abuse that has
taken hold in the mountain region.

He said tips are useful, even if they don't lead to immediate arrests.
Sometimes they contribute to ongoing investigations, Hopkins said, and
sometimes they launch new ones.

"We don't want the community to feel like when they give us information
that it doesn't go anywhere," he said. "It does take time."

A grand jury in Pike County also returned indictments Tuesday and Wednesday
against 24 people on charges of "doctor shopping" -- going from one
physician to another getting prescriptions filled for the powerful,
addictive pain pills.