FLEMINGSBURG — Members of the Fleming County Sheriff's Department together with members of the Buffalo Trace Narcotics Task Force arrested two people Thursday night for trafficking in controlled substances.

According to Fleming County Sheriff Scotty Royse, Jason M. Grizzell, 28, of Waynesburg and Stephen M. Lewis, 24, of Carter County, formerly of Ewing, were both arrested around 6 p.m. in the Ringos Mill area of Fleming County after more than a week of investigative work by his department and the task force "We intercepted the vehicle coming back from Florida with drugs from the Ft. Lauderdale, Miami area," said Royse.

Royse said the two men obtained the drugs at a pain clinic in Florida.

"We seized a large quantity of Oxycodone and Xanax, a bottle full of Endocet, marijuana and drug paraphernalia," Royse said, adding the pair also had "several thousand dollars" on them at the time of their arrest.

Oxycodone, Xanax and Endocet are Schedule II Narcotics and OxyContin — the brand name for oxycodone — has been blamed for hundreds of deaths across the country in recent years. The drug has been called "hillbilly heroin" in Appalachian states like Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia.

Royse said his office learned "some of the drugs were coming back into Fleming County" and officials had been watching for Grizzell and Lewis for two days.

Thursday's arrest took place on Kentucky 158, where Royse and Fleming County Deputies Johnny Catron, Jared Wagner and Gary Kinder waited for more than five hours for Grizzell and Lewis.

"We knew where they were going and we waited for them to come back. Things started coming together in the last week," Royse said of the joint effort between his department and the task force.

"We're working diligently on this (drug) problem," Royse said of Thursday's bust.

Both men have been charged with trafficking in a controlled substance first degree and are lodged in the Mason County Detention Center. Grizzell was also charged with operating a vehicle under the influence.

Contact Marla Toncray at marla.toncray@lee.net or 606-564-9091 ext. 275.