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Mahopac Youths Charged with Trafficking in Stolen Pharmacy Drugs
Putnam County Sheriff Donald B. Smith reports the arrests of three youths from Mahopac on drug charges. The three youths have been implicated in the trafficking of stolen pharmacy medications in the Mahopac area and one of them is charged with possessing the illegal drugs on the campus of Mahopac High School.
The case began to unfold on September 6, 2007, when Deputy Sheriff Stephen Kanuk, the Resource Officer assigned to the high school, found a student in possession of Diazepam, a narcotic commonly known by the brand name "Valium." The deputy charged the youth with Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Seventh Degree, a class A misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. The student was booked and later released without bail to his parents.
Deputy Kanuk notified the Sheriffs Narcotics Enforcement Unit of the arrest, which prompted narcotics investigators to probe into the source of the Diazepam. That investigation led authorities to a second youth, whom they suspected had stolen the Diazepam and other controlled substances from a Westchester County pharmacy in which he worked as a technician. Investigators alerted the pharmacy management and loss prevention personnel about the suspected drug thefts and those thefts were confirmed by an audit of drug inventory and a review of video surveillance recordings at the pharmacy. As a result the youth was arrested on September 10 and charged with Criminal Sale of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance in the Fifth Degree, both class D felonies punishable by up to seven years' imprisonment and a $30,000 fine upon conviction.
Narcotics officers continued their investigation and, on September 26, they arrested a third youth, who is accused of purchasing a quantity of Vicodin tablets from the second. He was charged with Conspiracy in the Fourth Degree, a class E felony that carries a maximum penalty upon conviction of four years' imprisonment and a $30,000 fine.
The criminal complaints cases against all three defendants were filed in the Town of Carmel Justice Court. The Sheriff's Office investigation is continuing and additional charges are expected to be filed
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