Officials from Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and other law enforcement agencies have taken up to 48 people into custody after a surprise early morning raid this Wednesday on clinics, pharmacies and other medical dispensaries that are suspected of illegally dealing in pain killers in four southern states.

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According to NBC News, the DEA's raid on 'pill mills' in Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana, which is part of 'Operation Dilluted,' is the "single largest pharmaceutical operation" in the history of the federal law enforcement agency. All four states targeted in this raid were among the top 11 states in the country where the sale of illegal pain killers was reportedly high in 2014.

In just over a year since the DEA's 'Operation Dilluted' was initiated to crackdown on the illegal distribution of pain killers, up to 280 people have been taken into custody.

According to AP, up to half of these arrests have been made in Arkansas. Arkansas is one of the places in the country where the use of pain killers and other potentially dangerous prescription drugs has spread widely among residents - especially among young adults.

On Wed, the DEA raided two medical facilities in Arkansas - The KJ Medical Center and the Bowman Curve Pharmacy - and arrested several people including a doctor. A money-counting machine and four loaded guns were reportedly recovered confiscated at The KJ Medical Center. In total, up to nine people are reported to have been arrested in the state by the authorities during the raid. Meanwhile, about 22 people were taken into custody in Louisiana, nine in Alabama and eight in Mississippi.

U.S. Attorney Chris Thyer has revealed that since November last year, nearly 1,500 prescriptions have been taken from The KJ Medical Center to Bowman Curve Pharmacy, which is just a mile away. He revealed that the DEA started investigating The KJ Medical Center last summer after taking note of the large number of prescriptions that were being issued from the center. Arkansas Online has reported that during their investigations, DEA agents found out that prescriptions were being handed out at The KJ Medical Center without adequate medical examination, or in some instances without any examination.

During the latest operation, the DEA did not target users but instead medical professionals who distribute drugs (such as Xanax, hydrocodone and oxycodone) illegally. "We are not targeting the medical community," explains DEA Special Agent Keith Brown."We are targeting the drug dealers that are hiding amongst you, that are using the same degrees and training and the same oath that you in the medical community took - to first do no harm - to profit from addiction."

TagsDEA pill mill raids, DEA raids pill mills, Operation Dilluted, DEA pill mill bust, DEA painkiller crackdown