4 men arrested on drug charges tied to Indiana HIV outbreak

arrests-in-southern-indiana-hiv-case

A Georgia man accused of distributing a painkiller linked to the largest HIV outbreak in Indiana history is under arrest, along with three other suspects.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency says Michael Elkins of Cartersville, Georgia, distributed Opana pills in southern Indiana’s Scott County. Officials say needle-sharing among people injecting a liquefied form of Opana has driven the outbreak.

The DEA says Elkins and John Morgan had about four ounces of methamphetamine and 19 Opana pills when arrested this month in neighboring Clark County, while two suspected couriers — Tyler Turner and William Thrower — had a half-pound of meth.

All four are jailed on drug charges. Court documents don’t list attorneys for any of the suspects, or hometowns for Morgan, Turner or Thrower.