Two 24-year-old men were arrested Tuesday at a Stateline casino for allegedly selling prescription pain pills from their hotel room, according to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
Sgt. Dan Britton said Garrett Jay Churchill, of Goodyear, Ariz., and Ryan Daniel Ferreira, of South Lake Tahoe, were arrested by the sheriff's office Street Enforcement Team in conjunction with the Sled-Net Task force.
The suspects were arrested in a hotel room, and investigators recovered 22 OxyContin pills, 3 Suboxone pills, 18 grams of marijuana, 2.4 grams of hashish, a hypodermic syringe and other drug paraphernalia and $3,005 believed to be drug sales proceeds.
Britton said one of the suspects admitted that he and his partner had conducted more than 40 drug transactions from the hotel room.
They reportedly were selling the pills for $60 each.
Both men were booked in Douglas County Jail at Stateline.
Ferreira was charged with possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of marijuana, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and for an outstanding bench warrant for a traffic offense.
Churchill was charged with possession of a controlled substance for sale, possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and possession of a hypodermic.
Britton said OxyContin is a very potent pain killer. The pills seized were 80 milligram tablets.
He cited the Physicians Desk Reference that said the 80 milligram pills are only to be prescribed to "opioid-tolerant patients."
"The PDR goes on to say that the pills should be swallowed whole and not crushed which causes the OxyContin to be rapidly absorbed which can result in a potentially fatal overdose," He said,
He said those abusing OxyContin and similar prescription drugs, crush the pills and either snort or smoke them which gives them a much stronger and quicker high.
He said Suboxone pills are used in the treatment of opioid dependence such as heroin addiction, and are abused in much the same manner as OxyContin.
