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DEA, DeKalb police raid suspected pill mill

TUCKER, Ga. — Several people were detained in a pill mill raid in DeKalb County on Thursday morning.

Agents with the Drug Enforcement Agency raided the Southern Health Management building on Northlake Parkway in Tucker just before noon as part of an ongoing investigation, the DEA said. Hours later, agents were still reviewing evidence.

Channel 2's Ryan Young was the first reporter on the scene and watched as doctors exited the building. Several were permitted to leave without being arrested, though one surrendered his license.

"They didn't arrest any doctors," one doctor told Young on the way to his car.

However, the owner was arrested and charged with criminal conspiracy. He denied any wrongdoing.

"We medicate people for the right reasons not for the wrong reasons," Southern Pain Management owner Jeffery Gonzalez said as he was taken into custody.

Tow trucks hauled away many cars, include several with out-of-state license plates.

"That's one of the tell-tale signs, is when you have a car from Kentucky, West Virginia, places like that, that come all the way to Georgia to get pain medication," DEA spokesman Chuvalo Truesdell told Young.