Plano officer among those convicted for counterfeit pill operation out of Highland Park
HIGHLAND PARK, Texas - The Drug Enforcement Administration is releasing photos for the first time related to a Highland Park drug ring whose members have all been convicted.
They’re responsible for pushing fake prescription pills, including one that killed a 29-year-old.
One of the drug pushers was a police officer.
"It is something that we just cannot turn a blind eye to," said Special Agent in Charge Eduardo Chavez, who leads the DEA’s Dallas Field Division.
Ryan Pearson died of an accidental overdose while playing a video game in 2018.
The DEA said he purchased a pill that was labeled Xanax, but it was laced with fentanyl, which is up to 50 times more powerful than heroin.
"At least 75% of the pills that somebody’s buying on the street are counterfeit. Out of those, I would say, a far majority are containing fentanyl," Chavez explained.
The DEA says fake pills are typically made in Mexico.
The one that killed Pearson was tracked back to Gary Bussell’s Highland Park drug operation, who sold drugs with a crew of dealers, including Plano police officer Frank Dockery — who investigators said also taught some in the group how to shoot guns.
They sold to a wide range of age groups and demographics, bringing in plenty of cash from 2014 to 2019.
"Potentially millions, easily," Chavez said.
There were 93,000 overdoses in 2020. More than a third of those were from opioids.
The DEA said it’s bad enough when people become addicted to opioids prescribed by their doctor, but now people are getting them from street dealers.
"The qualities also vary. You know there is no quality control when it comes to street purchases of drugs," Chavez added.
It’s cheaper for cartels to make fake pills than to traffic real pills.
"It’s pure profit," Chavez said.
The savings trickle down to dealers, like the ones in Bussell’s operation.
"You’re buying these pills, wholesale, for as little as $5, $6 a pill. Then you’re turning around and selling them for $20, $25," Chavez said.
Unfortunately, deaths like Pearson’s are becoming all-too-familiar.
"Once you start buying anything off the street, you’re really playing that Russian roulette," Chavez said.
The DEA is running a full-court press against pill pushers in North Texas communities.
Bussell, the ringleader of the operation in Highland Park, was sentenced in September to 30 years in prison.
His crew members are serving anywhere from one to 14 years in prison. Dockery, the Plano officer, is serving 11 years.
"They were purely counterfeit pills," Chavez said.
And it doesn’t stop there. William Albrook, of The Colony, is the one who supplied Bussell’s organization, and he received 20 years.
Then there’s Peter Yin, of Garland, who received 20 years for distributing the drugs to Albrook.
People may be surprised to hear, but the DEA said there are plenty more neighborhood drug rings where you’d least expect it.
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