It was a search for missing guns that turned into a drug bust.

Nine people are in jail in Martin County after officers believe they were going to Florida to buy prescription pills and bring them back to eastern Kentucky.

They say they found the group all at one home with dozens of pills and thousands of dollars in cash along with a van in the driveway that looked like it was ready to leave.

Martin County Sheriff Deputies went to the home on Spence Branch to search for stolen guns.

When they got there, they say they found dozens of people running away and throwing pills and money everywhere!

Martin County Sheriff Deputies had reason to believe stolen guns were at this home in Spence Branch, but when they arrived to search early Thursday morning, the found much more.

“When we pulled in, people started moving around and throwing things. Some officers saw some people throwing pills. For awhile before we got everyone settled down, everybody was moving pretty quick. It kind of shocked me,” Martin County Sheriff Garmon Preece said.

Deputies say they found OxyCodone all over the ground outside and hidden in several places inside. The Sheriff says several people threw cash everywhere. They collected at least seven thousand dollars in the driveway and several thousand more when they started searching the dozen people, including a man from Ohio.

The Sheriff says the Ohio man, Lacy Wimbish, admitted he was paid to drive people to Florida to get prescription pills. The Sheriff says they found a GPS in a van with directions to a location in Florida.

Deputies arrested Wimbish, the man who lived there, Jeffery Maynard and seven others. They confiscated all the drugs and cash.

“We got some of these pills off the street and maybe get some of this money off the street for awhile,” Sheriff Preece said.

All arrested face several charges.

The sheriff says they did not find the stolen guns they originally went to look for at the house.

Several others were at the home, but were not charged.

Those arrested:
Jeffery Maynard, 39, of Inez
Delana F. Hill, 34, of Inez
Robert D. Hill, 33, of Lovely
Darlene H. Blackburn, 34, of Inez,
Linda L. Maynard, 49, of Beauty
Darrell M. Mills, 29, of Tomahawk
Arthur Jude, 32, of Inez
Kenneth James, 30, of Inez
Lacy Wimbish, 34, of Columbus, Ohio