A Fayetteville

pharmacy was actually a front for a drug-running operation that allowed

a local man to live a lavish lifestyle, according to local law enforcement

investigators.

Alvin McDowell,

44, owner of the Family Pharmacy off Ga. Highway 314, was arrested recently

of controlled substances by a pharmacist.

Investigators

are working to seize his extravagant $857,000 home along with approximately

$600,000 in mutual funds they contend were profits from the illegal sale

of prescription medication, said Lt. Mike Pruitt of the task force.

Records indicate

that over the last eight months, McDowell only filled one prescription

and that was for himself, Pruitt said. State law requires pharmacies to

maintain copies of all prescriptions they fill, Pruitt noted.

"The only

ones who are allowed to distribute drugs without a prescription are physicians,"

Pruitt said.

Witnesses from

nearby businesses told investigators that Family Pharmacy didn't have

much "traffic" but people were seen coming and going, often

leaving the pharmacy with large brown bags, Pruitt said.

The investigation

was tipped off by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, which noted that Family

Pharmacy was receiving an unusually large quantity of prescription medication,

Pruitt said. The types of medication ranged from a prescription form of

Tylenol and hydrocodone, otherwise known as Vicadin.

The task force

is working the investigation along with the Georgia Drugs and Narcotics

Agency.

If the house

seizure is approved, McDowell's home in the Northridge subdivision would

be auctioned off by the county.