A man who called himself the King of Hudson has pleaded guilty, along with 18 other defendants, to federal drug distribution charges.
Arde Olsen, the so-called king, was accused of leading a group that shopped around at area doctors for oxycodone prescriptions and resold the highly addictive painkiller on the streets throughout the Tampa Bay area, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Olsen ran the drug ring out of an auto repair shop on Pine Forest Drive and his former residence on Denton Avenue, both in Hudson.
Olsen, 51, was arrested in February along with his wife, Shannon Olsen, 45, and son Jason Michael Olsen, 23. The sting snared 16 other defendants, men and women ages 19 to 50. They were all believed to be living in Pasco County, where abuse of prescription drugs is widespread, authorities say.
The arrests, dubbed Operation Oxy Express, followed a year and a half investigation by the Pasco and Pinellas sheriff's offices; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the Drug Enforcement Administration.
The defendants each face up to 20 years in prison, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. They are set to be sentenced in late October in federal court in Tampa.
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