DEA Pill Mill Sweep Catches Five Physicians
The DEA raided at least a dozen pain clinics from Miami to West Palm Beach on February 23, 2011, resulting in the arrest of at least 20 people, five of which were physicians. The raids were a result of a two year investigation, dubbed "Operation Pill Nation".
One of the doctors arrested, a Miami Osteopath, was charged with six counts of drug trafficking, due to his having sold pills to undercover agents posing as patients without legitimate medical problems. Some of the doctors arrested attracted the attention of investigators by prescribing inordinately large amounts of pills.
"Operation Pill Nation," spearheaded by the DEA, is an effort to disrupt and dismantle pill mills in South Florida, and consists of the combined participation of federal and state law enforcement, and the Florida Department of Health.
Due to these efforts, Physicians are being chronically prosecuted and are being subject to actions to revoke DEA registrations as well as to actions against their state licenses.