Agents with the California Department of Justice arrested nine people Thursday during a prescription drug sweep. The charges range from forging fake prescriptions to faking symptons to get multiple prescriptions.
Agents said most of the suspects are addicts who go from doctor to doctor until they find some who will give them prescriptions for painkillers including vicodin and oxycontin.
One of the suspects is a former teacher from Santee. Another was a juvenile who had a probation violation for a different crime.
The task force specifically targets people who illegally obtain prescription medication. "There are some things we can't talk about, technological things that we do to track people," said RxNet commander Ernie Limon.
Limon said many times they'll get tips from the public on who is abusing medication. "Information comes to us from pharmacies, doctors, citizens, friends and relatives, telling us that this person has a problem," Limon said.
