A Richmond Hill man is among five people arrested following a joint investigation by the Chatham-Savannah Counter Narcotics Team and the Drug Enforcement Administration, according to a press release.

 The release said CNT and DEA agents identified a group of individuals suspected of selling large amounts of OxyContin, an addictive opioid-based medication.

 As the investigation furthered, agents reportedly determined the group was selling the prescription medication throughout Chatham, Bryan, and Effingham counties. Between August and November of this year, agents arrested 41-year-old Jason Toledo of Richmond Hill, 36-year-old Rebecca Hillis of Savannah, 28-year-old Justin Gordon of Savannah, 38-year-old Summer Boyles of Brooklet, and 36-year-old Frank “Pork Chop” Haws of Atlanta.

 The investigation is ongoing and additional arrests are expected, according to the release.

 OxyContin is a schedule II controlled substance and is a time-release oral version of oxycodone, an opium derivative, the CNT said, and the release noted that, “Oxycodone is the active ingredient in other pain relievers like Percodan and Percocet. The time-release characteristic of OxyContin allows it to effectively manage pain over a period of several hours. Abusers of OxyContin have found that chewing OxyContin tablets or injecting or snorting crushed tablets produces an intense high that has been compared to heroin.

“Circumventing the time-release mechanism by breaking up OxyContin tablets, greatly increases the risk of addiction and overdose. Like other opiate narcotics, OxyContin can be fatal when combined with alcohol or other brain depressant drugs or when taken in high doses,” it said.