SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Federal agents have arrested 34 people including doctors and pharmacy owners accused of running a $1 million prescription drug ring that authorities say has helped fuel a record number of killings this year.
One of the women accused in the grand jury indictment is a pharmacy owner married to a Puerto Rico Superior Court judge who federal officials say is not a suspect in the case.
A three-year federal investigation found that suspects obtained unneeded prescriptions for drugs including Percocet, Demerol and Xanax, bought them at pharmacies in northwest Puerto Rico and sold them across the island, said Pedro Janer, assistant special agent in charge for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Puerto Rico.
The suspects obtained a pill dose equivalent to 3 tons of marijuana, buying pills for about 20 cents each and reselling them for $5 to $8 each, he said.
"This has contributed greatly to the killings that have occurred in Puerto Rico," Janer said. "Eight of 10 shooters arrested have admitted to being under the effect of these drugs ... This is something extremely alarming."
The U.S. Caribbean territory has reported a record 1,041 killings so far this year, compared with the previous record of 995 slayings reported for all of 1994.
The newspapers El Nuevo Dia and Primera Hora reported that one woman arrested is an unidentified municipal legislator, but federal officials did not confirm the information.
More arrests are likely as the investigation continues, authorities said.
Janer said federal authorities investigating the case have noticed a small but emerging trend in which doctors and pharmacy owners are now dealing directly with drug traffickers. He declined further comment, saying investigations are ongoing.
The suspects face up to 20 years in prison if found guilty.
