22 arrested in Pa. prescription drug forgery ring

Pennsylvania prosecutors say they’ve arrested 22 people in connection with a prescription drug forgery ring they say operated in two-thirds of the state’s 67 counties.

Attorney General Kathleen Kane said Tuesday members of the ring obtained more than 59,000 oxycodone pills using forged prescriptions and stolen information from doctors.

She says they made $1.7 million in profit.

Investigators say they began comparing prescriptions across the state after discovering a fraudulent oxycodone prescription in Mifflin County in February 2013.

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They say they found 550 fraudulent prescriptions were filled in 44 counties, all tied to a Philadelphia-based drug ring.

They say alleged drug ring leader Kevin Andrews Jr. paid runners cash and took them to pharmacies across the state to collect the pills.

Information on his lawyer wasn’t immediately available.

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