DRUG RING CRUSHED IN HERNANDO COUNTY

Most of the Suspects Have Been Arrested

BROOKSVILLE - It was one of the most organized prescription drug rings
in recent memory for Sheriff Richard Nugent and his vice unit.

The perpetrators reproduced numerous fake scripts to acquire pain
medications by the thousands, he said.

Hernando County Sheriff's detectives first learned during their
investigation that the suspects used the name of a physician and
rehabilitation specialist in Tampa and used different patient names.

The dealers hit a snag, though, because they chose a doctor who rarely
signs oxycodone prescriptions, Nugent said.

Red flags were raised in February, and by Friday most of the 31
suspects - including the alleged ringleader - had been arrested.

Nugent called the ongoing prescription drug issues in Hernando County
and elsewhere across the Tampa Bay region "an epidemic."

"It's really ravaging this part of the state," he said during a news
conference Friday morning.

The alleged head of the operation was [redacted], who Nugent said "has
an extensive criminal history." He has been out of prison for a year,
the sheriff said.

[Redacted], the suspected second in command, remains at
large.

Seven of the suspects have outstanding warrants. Twenty remain behind
bars. Four have been released on bail.

Most were charged with trafficking or conspiracy to traffic
oxycodone.

The suspects used the name of Dr. Naomi A. Abel, of the University of
South Florida Health, on some of the scripts.

She was contacted in February by local authorities when one of the
scripts was found. She said she didn't have a patient by the name used
on the prescription, which turned out to be fake, according to the
sheriff's office.