Frank George Fischer, 58, was arrested Friday at his Boca Raton home after officers found 21 grams (less than an ounce) of marijuana, and about 100,000 oxycodone pills confiscated after police uncovered a scheme that obtained drugs illegally from pharmacies between Jupiter and Lake Worth.


Fischer was supplying clients with fake scripts he obtained on the Internet. Additional suspects would fill the scripts at small pharmacies throughout the county. They would then return the drugs to Fischer, who would pay them pack with a share.


The drug ring obtained more than 100,000 oxycodone pills - they sell for about $25 each on the street - and 3,000 pills of xanax, which is used to treat anxiety.


The drug investigation began July 15 while Boca Raton Police were checking into a residential burglary. During the investigation, police determined resident Fischer, was dealing in oxycodone. Police arrested Fischer and found about 850 oxycodone pills, 100 xanax pills, two handguns, and 500 fake prescription forms - known as scripts - in his home.


Despite the value of the confiscated drugs, the arrest made only a "very small dent" in the illegal South Florida market for oxycodone, said A.D. Wright, assistant special agent for the Miami Field Division of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.


"Getting oxycodone is so easy. (Fischer) had no problem getting his scripts on line," Wright said. "The ease of getting the drug can quickly lead to addiction."


Oxycodone is a pill prescribed for pain relief associated with fractures, arthritis, and cancer pain. Oxycodone abusers often chew the tablets or crush the tablets and snort the powder. Oxycodone is water soluble, and crushed tablets can be dissolved in water and the solution injected.


Fischer worked as a truck driver and used his route to distribute oxycodone pills and other drugs, according to the report.


About 240 people died of drug overdoses in the county last year. PBSO, which keeps its own statistics, has the number at 303 and warns it could exceed 400 this year.


Police say Fischer was planning to sell the oxycodone and use the funds to locate to Northern Arizona. The arrest followed an eight-month undercover investigation by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.