Opiate ring investigation ongoing, warrants issued

Authorities are investigating a drug-trafficking ring involving a wide range of prescription opiates.

As the result of a lengthy investigation, agents from the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Drug Task Force last week executed six search warrants in North Walker County in Georgia and South Hamilton County in Tennessee. The search warrants were in reference to a suspected drug trafficking organization operating throughout the Tennessee Valley, dealing primarily with Schedule II prescription narcotics.

According to Drug Task Force Commander Pat Doyle, the drugs range from oxycodone and roxyco-

done, to various other opiates.

“Any kind of opiates you can get your hands on,” Doyle said of the wide range of prescription pills being trafficked throughout the region.

The dealers are buying the narcotics wholesale and redistributing them in a classic prescription diversion case, Doyle said.

The investigation has spanned several months and the ring has been operating for quite some time, he said.

Doyle said the drug ring could reach even further than Walker County, Catoosa County, and Hamilton County, including their surrounding areas.

Multiple agencies assisted in the search warrant executions. These agencies include the Walker County Sheriff’s Office, LaFayette Police Department, Rossville Police Department, Dade County Sheriff’s Office, Chattooga County Sheriff’s Office, Fort Oglethorpe Police Department, Georgia Bureau of Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and the Hamilton County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office.

The investigation is ongoing and more arrests are pending. The following individuals were arrested on Walker County warrants and charged with trafficking

Schedule II narcotics. Additional charges on those arrested are pending the results of the search warrants.

· Johnny Boatwright, Sr., 51, of 1138 McBride Road, East Ridge, Tenn.

· Theodore H. Apostol Jr., 46, of 434 Jenkins Road, Rossville

· Cindy L. Boatwright Apostol, 29, of 434 Jenkins Road, Rossville, Ga.

· Joshua E. Hayes, 33, of 817 Lynn Lane, Rossville

· Krysten E. Hayes, 32, of 817 Lynn Lane, Rossville

· Theodore H. Apostol III, 23, of 777 Chickamauga Ave., Rossville

Theodore H. Apostol Jr. and Theodore H Apostol III, owners of Apostol Clean & Detail Shop in Rossville, are the son and grandson, respectively, of the late Jack Apostol, who for a time served as LaFayette building inspector.