Law enforcement agencies in Moore County collected 105,901 dosage units of prescription and over-the-counter pills during Operation Medicine Drop, according to the Moore County Sheriff's Office.

The medicines were collected during the week of March 20 through March 26.

"This was our most successful operation as a one-time event in terms of most dosage units collected," said Capt. Jerrell Seawell, of the Moore County Sheriff's Office.

The collected pills were turned over to the State Bureau of Investigation to be destroyed

Last year, Moore County participated in two Medicine Drops, one in the fall and another in the spring. Combined, those events collected 127,523 pills.

The Sheriff's Office partnered with local police agencies in Moore County, in conjunction with Drug Free Moore County and the Moore Drug Prevention Task Force, to host drop-off locations.

Seawell attributed the success of the event to the hard work of all volunteers and partnering agencies. Another key to the success of the event, he said, is the work law enforcement agencies are doing to communicate with their communities bout the dangers of prescription pills through agencies such as Drug Free Moore County and Moore County Drug Prevention Task Force.

"Basically the word is getting out to the public," Seawell said.

Operation Medicine Drop is a program aimed at providing residents with a safe and secure method of disposing of their prescription and over-the-counter medications, which may be expired or unused.

Operation Medicine Drop was conducted last week throughout North Carolina.

Law enforcement agencies participating included the Aberdeen, Southern Pines, Pinehurst, Robbins, Vass, Whispering Pines, Carthage and Taylortown police departments.

Another pill drop-off event is scheduled for April 30 in Moore County.

Information about the drop-off locations and times will be announced later.

For those who need to dispose of pills prior to that event, there is a permanent drop box located outside the Sheriff's Office in Moore County.

"It's open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year," Seawell said. "Anytime somebody needs to turn some (pills) in that is going to be made available."

Contact Tom Embrey at tembrey@thepilot.com.