A Greenville man alleged to have been selling large quantities of prescription pain medication in Beaufort County was arrested last week by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

James Redmond Jr., 66, of 1352 Staton House Road, Greenville, was arrested by the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office Drug Unit after a tip to Diversion Officer Greg Rowe led to several controlled buys from Redmond, Rowe said.

At the time of his arrest, investigators confiscated 270 dosage units of three types of Oxycodone-based pills, worth an estimated $9,000 on the street, according to Rowe.

“He had 80-milligram Oxycodone, which are $80 a piece, right off the bat,” Rowe said.

The painkillers were from legitimate prescriptions, he said, but the pills were being diverted for resale, something he’s seen regularly since his position as diversion officer was created and funded by a state grant, almost two years ago. In that time, the influx of prescription drugs on the illegal market has remained constant, he said.

“It’s a steady flow of people selling their ‘scrips,’” Rowe noted. “Certain people, certain times of the month.”

Redmond was arrested Nov. 27 and charged with three counts of level III trafficking in opiates and was confined in the Beaufort County Detention Center under a $40,000 secured bond. At the time of his arrest, Redmond was also served with an order for arrest stemming from a felony conspiracy charge out of Pitt County, according to a drug unit press release.

Rowe said efforts to curb the flow of prescription pain medications onto the streets for recreational use have been more successful since medical providers and pharmacists began working with law enforcement to stop it. Case in point, Rowe said, is pharmacists knowing what to watch out for when dealing with fraudulent prescriptions.

“I think they’re seeing more of it,” Rowe said. “Most of the time, when they catch something that’s not legitimate looking on the prescription, they’re pretty much right on it.”

As the county’s diversion officer, it’s Rowe’s job to investigate fraudulent prescriptions.