The Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office has responded to a rise in the illegal use of prescription drugs and prescription drug resale with a multiagency effort that has led to a series of arrests throughout Cottonwood and Yavapai County.

The Yavapai County Prescription Drug Task Force, using officers from Partner Against Narcotics Trafficking, arrested 42 people on July 18 after hundreds of hours of investigation by Partners Against Narcotics Trafficking.

An additional 20 people who were considered likely to flee or who were considered an immediate threat to the community were arrested before July 18.

Of the 30 identified arrests — YCSO has not identified some of the arrests to avoid putting ongoing investigations at risk — 14 of the arrested were from the Verde Valley, and eight of them are Cottonwood residents.

The Cottonwood arrests range in age from 20 to 57 years old, suggesting that prescription pill fraud and abuse cuts across all age groups.

For the full story, see the Wednesday, Aug. 1, edition of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.