35 indicted in alleged middle Georgia painkiller ring

MACON - Thirty-five people have been indicted in what middle Georgia authorities called a ring that forged prescriptions for painkillers and illegally resold the pills. <br> <br> The indictments include 150 criminal counts, Bibb County Sheriff Jerry Modena said. He said 26 of the people indicted had been arrested, and nine were still at large. <br> <br> The yearlong investigation was aimed at stopping the illegal distribution of prescription drugs including OxyContin, Dilaudid and Lortab, Jones County sheriff&#39;s investigator Jimmy Black said. <br> <br> Federal officials say abuse of prescription painkillers has escalated in the past few years, especially in rural parts of the eastern United States.