Inglewood doctor charged in Mexican drug smuggling scheme

A Southland doctor allegedly participated in a drug smuggling ring by authorizing nearly a million prescriptions for painkillers. Anti-drug authorities announced charges against that doctor and arrested 15 suspects on Friday.

After investigating for more than a year, officials busted up a ring that transported powerful drugs from San Diego across the border to Mexico.

At the center of the crackdown is 71-year-old Tyron Reece, a general practitioner in Inglewood. Reece allegedly wrote hundreds of thousands of prescriptions for yellow and blue hydrocodone tablets. The drugs — usually sold under the brand names Vicodin and Lortab — are as potent as morphine.

Officials say L.A. drivers moved the drugs Reece authorized as far as San Diego. Smugglers would take over from there by sneaking the pills into Tijuana. Then, American addicts would pay a handsome price for the drugs, which are sold over the counter at Mexican pharmacies. The scheme made a cool profit for pushers and their criminal enterprises back in the U.S., authorities say.

They added that the San Diego ring is the first they’ve discovered smuggling drugs into Mexico, instead of the other way around