SOUTH POINT — Three people were arrested this week for allegedly peddling Oxycontin.

Hank Starr, 43, of 57 County Road 56, South Point, Estell Mays, 43, and Gay L. Murphy, 47, both of 927 County Road 56, South Point, were all arrested Tuesday evening by members of the Lawrence County Sheriff’s Office and Lawrence County Drug and Major Crimes Task Force. They were all taken to the Lawrence County Jail.

All three were arraigned Wednesday in Lawrence County Common Pleas Court, where they each pleaded not guilty. They will return to court in two weeks for individual pretrial conferences.

The illegal sale of prescription mediation, and oxycontin in particular, is one crime law enforcement has become very familiar with over the last decade.

“It’s a problem not only in southern Ohio but throughout Appalachia,” Lawrence County Sheriff Tim Sexton said.

Sexton said law enforcement officials are trying to be as aggressive as possible to apprehending drug dealers, in spite of tight budgets and shrinking grant funding.