A six month undercover drug operation is coming to a successful conclusion at this hour, as members of Pulaski-Radford Drug Task Force are in the process of arresting approximately 30 people on 56 sealed drug indictments.

The most common drug police are seizing is prescription narcotics, such as morphine and hydrocodone tablets. We are seeing people who have legitimate prescription become dealers by selling part of their prescription. Prescription drugs are becoming the new gateway drug for people. When prescription drugs are abused, they can have devastating consequences; abusers often defeat the time release mechanisms of the drug in order to achieve a “high” which causes a higher dose in the abuser which can have serious effects, according to Sgt. Michael Conroy of the Virginia State Police.

“As of about noon, we have apprehended about eight individuals,” said Sgt. Conroy. “It will probably take a couple of days to round everyone up.”

The Pulaski-Radford Drug Task Force, which is made up of officers from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police, Dublin Police Department, Pulaski Police Department, Radford Police Department and the Commonwealth’s Attorneys Office for Pulaski and Radford, allows officers to work together to target drug dealers more rapidly and to share information with other departments of suspected drug activity.

The seven member task force’s officers are sworn with special arrest powers with the Virginia State Police, which allows them arrest subjects outside their normal jurisdiction. The task force was formed in 2005. With recent budget concerns, the task force pools resources and manpower to more effectively target dealers in the area. The majority of cases today involve suspected dealers, which the task force targets.
 
“We followed up on citizen’s tips that led to the arrests and the public’s help is appreciated,” said Pulaski County Sheriff Jim Davis.

Members of the task force encourage citizens to call the crime line with drug tips or other suspicious activity at 540-980-7810 or they can call the Virginia State Police drug tip line at 1-800-553-DOPE; callers can remain anonymous. Citizens can also report crimes on line at www.sheriffsoffice.org .

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