HILLSBORO, Ore. – Investigators said they broke up a sophisticated drug ring in Washington County that involved prescription cough syrup with codeine that was getting sold on the streets.
A Hillsboro woman went before a judge in Hillsboro Monday for her part in the alleged drug ring. Police said the criminals were fooling local pharmacies into supplying them with narcotic cough syrup.
The cough syrup was selling for $40 dollars an ounce on the street, or more than $600 for each 16-ounce bottle.
Sirenna Guice, 20, faces several charges, including forgery and possession of a controlled substance. Investigators said they found 20 bottles of codeine-laced cough syrup in her car and hotel room.
Detectives described Guice as part of a larger operation from California that was using doctors' DEA license numbers to call in bogus prescriptions. They said Guice would then drive to the pharmacies dressed in scrubs and pay $50 cash for each bottle of the cough syrup.
"We believe there may be other people that are making their calls that have the DEA numbers for the doctors to be able to provide the pharmacies they would call in any sort of prescription like this and they do a mass call to all pharmacies in a particular area," explained Sgt. Bob Ray, with the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
Investigators are still trying to determine what brought the crime ring to Oregon from California.
