PLEASANTON, Texas — It's a big crime in a small town. Pleasanton Police said they are seeing an uptick in fraudulent prescriptions.
Last week, four men from the Austin area were arrested and accused of trying to get medicine with a fraudulent doctor's note.
Criminal Investigations Division Lieutenant Jordan Haren said the suspects wanted the medicine to sell it on the streets.
"It is a small town," he said. "They figured they would get away with it. "There has been an uptick in it. It is not an every day thing we see. I would say if anything, once a month possibly."
On November 13, police said the four men from the Austin area dropped off the fake prescription at a Pleasanton pharmacy. Right off the bat, an employee noticed a red flag, which was the quantity being asked on the prescription.
"I believe it was a liter for promethazine and codeine," Haren said.
The drugs are commonly used to treat a cough. Haren said employees immediately called the doctor and police. Investigators said the doctor's note came from the Rio Grande Valley, and the doctor had no idea about the prescription. Haren said people get the cough medicine and will mix it with soda.
"In reality it gets you high if you drink enough of it," he said. "They mix it with Sprite, they drink and it gets them high."
Later that day, the four men went back to the Pleasanton pharmacy to pick up the order, instead they were picked up by police.
"I imagine they are doing this all over Texas, not just Pleasanton," he said.
The four men range in ages 17 to 21. They were booked at the Atascosa County Jail and are facing several charges like, Forging / Altering Prescriptions, Driving Under the Influence and Possession of Controlled Substances, and Possession of Drug Paraphernalia.
The lieutenant also told KENS5 they're seeing an increase in people from outside of town coming to their area to commit crimes.