ROYAL PALM BEACH, FL -- They call it Operation Shop till You Drop.
It is a multi-agency effort to crack down on doctor shopping for prescription drugs.
As of noon Thursday, 18 people were in custody. Many of the suspects were arrested at home in the early morning hours. Some of the suspects were still in their bathrobes and pajamas when they arrived at the Royal Palm Beach PBSO substation.
Dominick Tursi says he was home after a night at Hard Rock when he was arrested and charged with doctor shopping and trafficking in pharmaceutical drugs.
Tursi says deputies have it all wrong.
He admits he has used medications like Vicodin, OxyContin, and Xanax.
"You can see I have all the scars all over me here, my legs, Tursi said.
Asked what the scars are from Tursi says, "Surgery, I have bone disorder, bone problems."
But Tursi doesn't believe he has abused the system.
Palm Beach County Sheriff Ric Bradshaw disagrees.
"I got 3,000 people in jail and nobody did anything, alright, 'it's always never my fault and I didn't do anything' so we've got the probable cause to arrest them and we believe they're guilty of it," says Bradshaw.
Deputies say 28 Palm Beach County residents are guilty of doctor shopping, meaning they went to different doctors, obtained a large quantity of painkillers , then used or sold them.
Deputies say the 28 people are responsible for obtaining more than 237,000 illegally prescribed pills during the past 24 months equaling a street value of $3,328,598.
One pill can cost $10 to $60 on the street.
Deputies say every 27 hours, someone in Palm Beach County dies due to a prescription medication overdose.
"And the message is, if you're a doctor and you're involved in this doctor shopping or you're people involved in this type of stuff, you better start looking over your shoulder cause we're gonna come after you," says Sheriff Bradshaw.
This is round two of Operation Shop Till You Drop.
16 individuals were arrested in round one back in April.
Deputies say next summer a tracking system should be in place in Florida that will allow all major and independent pharmacies to communicate so prescriptions are not doubled.
