LAWRENCE — Federal, state and local police arrested five employees of the Lawrence Post Office on Common Street this morning as part of an investigation into illegal prescription drug use.
According to police, the postal employees had obtained fraudulent prescriptions from a local doctor's office which they then filled at area pharmacies for narcotic pain killers. They used the drugs themselves, police said.
The doctor involved in the case is not under suspicion, and in fact told police what was going on as soon as he found out about it.
The five will be arraigned later today at Lawrence District Court.
While the Drug Enforcement Agency is involved, along with other federal, state and local authorities, it is not considered a federal case because the employees were not using their positions as postal employees to obtain the drugs.
They did, however, pick up the prescriptions and conduct the activity while at the post office, authorities said.
After they were arrested this morning, they were taken to the North Andover police department for processing prior to their arraignment today.
More arrest are expected later today.
The case is being investigated by the DEA, United States Postal Service inspectors, and detectives from North Andover, Lawrence and Methuen.
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