SHELBY, N.C. — Deputies nabbed 21 people including a doctor after a prescription drug raid in Shelby in Operation: Prescribed Epidemic.
Sheriff's deputies raided the Carolina Foot and Ankle Clinic Friday on Lee Street.
They arrested Dr. Steven Skorman on drug charges.
He's accused of over-prescribing medication to his patients and prescribing medicine to patients who didn't need it.
"It's a problem we're hitting head-on here in Cleveland County," Sheriff Alan Norman said.
Nearly 700 people in North Carolina died from prescription drug abuse in 2012.In a 9 Investigation from July, Channel 9 showed how officers in Stanly County worked undercover to arrest anyone accused of passing pills illegally.
The sheriff plans to ask commissioners for more money to pay for their efforts.
In Charlotte, 10 drug enforcement administration agents are dedicated to cracking down on illegal prescription sales.
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